The Weapon
by The Grimreaper PT
Summary: AU. In 1995 John adopted a 12yr old girl seeing her potential as a weapon due to her abilities. Now 10yrs later Jessica is dead, john is missing and with everything else Kaida is forced to confront her past. How will they cope and do their job. C3 extendd. Please let me know what you think  especially about the picture as I have started drawing again
1. Where It All Began

Note: I have been proof reading again so yet again there have been some small changes made. I wasn't happy with the flow and there were a few spelling mistakes. I also wanted to have a look at the flashbacks and how they tie into the story.

The Weapon

Chapter 1- Where it all began

Dean dragged his brother out of the car and into the room he had rented for them. Sam was unresponsive, Numb. He hadn't said anything since being pulled forcibly from the building and Dean was starting to worry. He had been this way ever since the fire, his silent, not there Brother. Dean wasn't really surprised after what hapened. How do you live through something like that? How do you even process something like that? God, already he hated this town. This town Sam had run off to in pursuit of a normal life. The town Dean had had to come to, to ask for Sam's help. The town in which the love of his brother's life had been killed in front of him, and in exactly the same way their mother had been. For years Dean had dreamt that Sam would come back to them and their life, but he had never wanted it to happen like this.

Dean glanced at the bags in the corner of the room where he had left them. Sam's bag sitting there next to his own. It was almost like old times seeing them piled together, almost. There was still a bag missingstill a bag in the car. He hadn't bothered to pick up Kaida's bag as he manouvered Sam towards the room. But her bag would be there soon enough, and then all they would need was John's bag in the other corner. The sight of the bags brought Kaida to the front of Dean's mind and suddenly he was worrying again. He knew he didn't have to worry about her as she was more than capable of looking after herself. But she was his little sister.

Where was she? The last time Dean had seen Kaida, the paramedics had been lifting her into the ambulance. She had insisted that he look after Sam, that she was fine. She had said that she would go along to the hospital and then she would be right back. He should take Sam to the motel nearby and make sure that he was alright. And he had, he had listened to her, he had dragged his unresponsive brother away while watching his little sister being driven away. Sighing Dean dragged a hand over his face. He didn't even know which hospital was the nearest, nobody had told him, and they hadn't bothered to check before they came to town. Why would they? The hunt hadn't been here. They had only come here to pick Sam up and to drop him off again, no one had expected this. Sam would probably know, but he was in no state to chat about it right now. There was a phone directory sitting on the table in front of him so Dean picked it up and flicked through it until he found the numbers he needed.

Taking the phone out of his pocket, Dean walked over to where Sam sat on the bed staring into space.

"Sammy? Sammy look at me?"

He turned his brother to face him, but it seemed as if there was nothing behind Sam's eyes. He couldn't see him, or hear him. It was as if he had no idea that Dean was there at all. Would he be like this forever? Had Jessica killed all that there was in Sam? No, Dean thought. Not if we can help it. They would get Sam back. They had to. Dad survived and so would he. He just needed some time to grieve, some time to process everything that had happened. He would be fine.

"Sammy, I'm going to phone the hospital now. I'm going to try and find out how Kaida's doing, alright?"

He didn't get an answer, but really he hadn't expected one. Reluctantly he stood and went to the door. He had to phone the hospitals and find out where Kaida was. It didn't matter how emphatically she had claimed she was fine. That was what she did. She always put Sam and himself ahead of herself, no matter what. She had been a part of their family for ten years now, ten years. And Alright she wasn't really their sister, as she kept reminding them. But she was still a part of the family, a very important part. John had adopted her when she was twelveyears old and none of them had ever looked back. Kaida had earned her place amongst them and no matter what her DNA said, she was their little sister and always would be.

Until that day all those years ago, Dean had hardly noticed her. She was just one of Sam's school friends. He had always been able to make friends easily, finding someone to talk to wherever they went. Everyone always liked Sam. And this time that friend had been Kaida. She was shy and unimposing. Just a quiet girl, who sat doodling in her notebook, while others talked around her. She was Perfectly happy to listen to those around her without forcing a contribution. On more than one occasion she had joined the Winchester brothers as they ate their lunch in the dining hall. She would sit there quietly eating, answering them when they spoke to her, but never initiating a conversation. Dean had liked her instantly, she was polite and quietly intelligent, a nice girl. She was tiny, even for a 12yr old, and even now that hadn't changed. She looked younger than she was, and delicate as if she would shatter into a thousand pieces. Her long raven hair and her dark eyes made her look like a doll, not like a ragdoll, but like one of those porcelain dolls that people put up on high shelves so that they wouldn't get broken. But he could see that there was intelligence in those eyes, Intelligence and fear. She always looked as if she was about to be hit, And her small skinny frame exaggerated her nervousness. She was someone to be overlooked, just a nice quiet girl, a little nervous, but nothing extraordinary or so they had thought.

* * *

Dean was 16 and waiting by his locker. He was supposed to get Sam out of here before their father arrived. But Sam was nowhere to be seen. John had been tracking a nest of Harpies for weeks, trying in vain to pinpoint its location, only to discover that they were hiding underneath the school. The very school that he had sent his sons to. Dean looked at his watch impatiently. Any minute now he would be here and Sam wasn't. With a sigh he set off towards the library, because really where else would he be?

When he finally found Sam, he was bent over a large reference book making notes with Kaida by his side peering at another.

"Sam, come on man we have to go."

The girl jumped at the sound of his voice, and appeared to shrink even more.

"I have to finish this"

Sam protested without looking up. Dean looked at his watch again. He didn't have time to argue about this.

"Dad will be here any minute Sam."

Just then his phone rang. Great, he thought.

"Hello. No sir, we're in the library. Yes sir we were just leaving. Yes sir."

As he hung up Kaida closed her book and looked up shyly.

"It's alright Sam I don't think we can be any more prepared for this test anyway. I'll put these away."

Sam's answer however was lost. There was a crash outside followed closely by the flapping of leather-like wings.

"Shit!"

Dean cursed pulling Sam down under the table.

There was another crash and the library doors burst apart. A dozen bat-like creatures flew in, each about the size of a small child. The brothers covered their heads as the doors burst open. When Dean looked up again he could see John standing in the doorway, shotgun in hand. He watched transfixed as his father was surrounded by the creatures. Too many, he thought, there are too many of them. John didn't know where to aim. They were too fast and too many.

Suddenly the room went cold. Dean could see his breath. He watched as icicles formed in the air, too fast to be natural. A sheet of ice encompassed the creatures freezing them in mid air, leaving John intact in the middle. He heard Sam gasp beside him.

"Kaida?"

Standing off to one side, her eyes white and her hands extended was the tiny twelve-year-old girl.

When she heard her name Kaida dropped her hands and stepped back slightly, her eyes clearing. Dean couldn't speak, he couldn't move. He couldn't quite process what he was seeing. Kaida picked up one of the heavy books and threw it against the ice sheet. As it shattered so did the creatures inside leaving a mess of body parts to thaw into a bloody mess. The girl sat down watching John closely and waiting patiently.

John was the first to recover from his shock physically shaking himself before he walked slowly towards the girl. She just looked up at him from where she sat, waiting witha look of resignation on her face.

"Are you going to kill me now?"

She asked it quietly looking him straight in the eye. She didn't even glance away from their father's eyes as Sam climbed out from under the table followed by Dean.

"Why would you think that?"

John asked. And she shrugged.

"You're a hunter, that's what you do."

Sam grabbed his father's arm while Dean stood dumbfounded. What was going on? There was too much to take in. Kaida, little Kaida had saved them all from a nest of Harpies. Little Kaida had frozen the creatures with her mind before smashing them into the mess that littered the floor. And now she was just sitting there waiting for their father to kill her. It was then that Dean realised he knew absolutely nothing about this girl. She was an orphan, he remembered Sam saying once, But nothing else. He had never needed to know anything else. She just sat there quietly, studying with Sammy. Little harmless Kaida.

John looked at her for a long time before he spoke.

"How do you know about hunters?"

He asked finally.

"My father was a hunter."

That was it, Simple as that. That one phrase meant so much. Each of them could guess now why Kaida was alone. Dean understood suddenly why she was so nervous all the time, why she always looked so afraid. She knew what they were, she knew about hunters and expected them to kill her even after she had saved them. How old had she been when her father had tried to kill her? How long had she been waiting for him to find her? She was only 12 years old and she looked as if she had been expeting this for a long time.

It was then that John knealt down in front of the girl, so that they were the same height.

"Why did you help me?"

He asked. She shrugged again.

"I couldn't let them kill you, hunters or not. Not when I could do something about it."

That was what John had been hoping for, Dean thought, because he smiled at that.

"I'm not going to kill you child. I don't think you're evil."

* * *

Within a month she was leaving town with them. It wasn't until years later that Dean realised what John had been thinking, what he had seen that day. He had seen a weapon. He had seen a creature he could mold into a perfect hunter, The perfect Killer.

And she had become a weapon, to John at least. She was still small, much shorter than any of them, and so thin and fragile she might snap. But she was powerful. She had spent the last ten years getting stronger and stronger. She was unique, her abilities coming so naturally to her that now they couldn't imagine her without them. She could alter temperatures, subtly if she wanted to, but drastically as well. She could spontaneously create fire and ice, ignitig the very air around her, or freezing it instantly. For ten years she had been helping the Winchester family. Protecting them from whatever they were up against and she did it without thought. But tonight for the first time she had come across a fire she couldn't control. Dean wondered how she was coping with that. Kaida was a constant in their lives. She was always there. The backup that could save them from anything. She had spent a decade protecting their family, being the weapon that John had wanted her to be. And now she had found something she couldn't protect them from. She wouldn't be taking it very well.

Just as he pressed dial a taxi pulled up outside the motel. Kaida. Although relief surged through him, his automatic reaction was to scold her.

"What are you doing here K? You're supposed to be in the hospital!"

She rolled her eyes at him as she hobbled over. She had a cast on her right leg and a set of crutches.

"I'm fine Dean, honestly. It's just a broken leg."

She put her hand out impatiently when she reached him.

"Keys?"

He went to retrieve the keys from his pocket with a sigh but stopped as he noticed a something on his sister's face. There was something different there, a red mark. He moved her long dark hair away from her face. There was a burn there, all along the right side. It continued down her neck and under her collar. Now that he looked closely he could see it continued down her arm and onto her hand. The sight of it made his heart stop. It was impossible. It couldn't be a burn, because Kaida was burn proof.

"It's not just a broken leg." He observed.

She pushed his hand away.

"I'm fine Dean honestly. Now give me the keys so I can get my bag."

He shook his head. Walking to the car himself he retrieved her bag.

"Fine!"

She huffed and hobbled off.

"Where are you going?"

He yelled as she retreated.

"To get a room."

She answered as if it was obvious.

"I'm guessing that room has a grand total of two beds and no sofa. I can't sleep on the floor with my cast and I'm not sleeping in the car."

Dean took her bag inside with him while she went to get a room, at least that way she would be forced to come and get it and he could grill her about her injuries. She wasn't injured often, and never for long, but he didn't like it. He dropped it onto the pile. Three bags. Now all they needed were John's bags in the other corner and things were back to normal.

He looked over at the bed and realised that Sam had fallen asleep. Probably not a restful sleep, but it was better than nothing. He sat down and watched the door. Yes he had a family again, but at what cost? Now that Kaida was safe he was back to worrying about Sam. After a couple of moments there was a knock at the door.


	2. Fire

The Weapon Chapter 2 - Fire

Sam awoke to the sound of voices outside, A man and a woman. He recognised them both.

"Why did you knock?"

That was Dean's voice. He sounded exhasted.

"I'm pretty sure Sam doesn't want to see me right now. I've got the room next door"

That was Kaida.

"What are you talking about K? That's nonsense. And besides Sam's asleep"

Sam closed his eyes again confused. Why wouldn't he want to see Kaida?

"Alright. I'll just get my bag. Then I'm going to bed."

Why was he still travelling with them anyway? Hadn't they finished the case? They must have. This was a different Motel room. He remembered leaving Jericho. They had driven back together in the car. They had finished the case and were on their way again.

* * *

Sam was sitting in the front seat working out John's coordinates on a map while Dean drove and Kaida stretched out on the back seat munching on something or other. She was always eating.

"OK, here's where dad went. It's called Blackwater ridge, Colarado"

Kaida moved to look over his shoulder.

"There's nothing there"

She pointed out looking at the map.

"It's just woods."

Sam confirmed

"Sound's charming."

Dean said obviously disappointed and Sam wasn't surprised. It looked as if they would be camping and Dean hated camping.

"Boring you mean"

Kaida said leaning back in her seat going back to her snacks.

"How far?"

It was an obvious question for Dean to ask, but they were getting into dangerous territory.

"About 600 miles"

He was going to have to remind them beffre Dean got to far in planning their next step.

" If we shag ass we can make it by morning"

He was going to have to say it. He was going to have break the euphoria that had settled over them with the successful completion of the case.

"Dean, um..."

Luckily Dean interupted him before he actually had to say the words.

"You're not going?"

He didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but he didn't want to give them the wrong impression. They had finished the case, and yeah they hadn't found Dad, but he had to get home.

"The interview's in 10 hours. I've got to be there"

The look on his brother's face was exactly what Sam had expected to see and he had to look away.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. We'll take you home."

Sam could see that Dean was upset, but there was nothing he could do. He had to get back. He had to get back to his life. He glanced back at Kaida. She was deliberately not looking at him, with her hair in front of her face, a clear sign that she was upset. He reached back and stole a chocolate bar.

"Hey!"

She yelled. Sam laughed.

"You're such a pig Kaida"

She tried to get the chocolate back but he opened it and stuffed the whole thing in his mouth.

"Yuck. That's gross Sam"

She said laughing as he tried to eat the entire bar. He could hear Dean laughing from the driver's seat. That's better he thought. And for a moment he missed travelling with them. They had been a great team back there. He had missed them a lot the last few years. But he had a life now, a safe life. He realised that he had given up a lot to be safe and he couldn't give up now. He was so close to getting everything he wanted. Normal people didn't see their family every day. Normal people went away to college leaving their siblings behind. He made the most of the journey, enjoying their company but then he would get out of the car, The car that had been so much of his childhood. And he would go back to his life.

Sam climbed out of the car and grabbed his bag.

"You'll call me if you find him"

Dean nodded.

"Maybe I'll meet up with you later, huh?"

Sam asked. He didn't want to let them go completely.

"Yeah, all right"

Dean replied. But Sam could tell he didn't believe it. Kaida was sitting quietly in the back seat behind her hair. Sam realised there was nothing he could do. His life was here and their life was out there. They wouldn't live the normal life. Dean claimed he didn't want it and Kaida couldn't. He waved and walked towards his apartment.

"Sam"

Dean called. Sam turned around.

"You know we made a hell of a team back there."

Sam nodded. That was Dean always trying to fix things.

"Yeah"

And then Sam walked away, Leaving them for the second time. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to remember what had happened. If he kept remembering something horrible would happen. When he closed his eyes however all he could see was Jessica.

* * *

He fell back onto the bed with his eyes closed. He was home. This is what he had earned. What he had worked for. He was here in his apartment. He could hear the shower running. His girlfriend was in there. This was his normal life. This was what he had given up his old life for, And right now as he lay there waiting for Jessica to come out of the bathroom it was worth it. Then something dripped on his head. That wasn't right. It happened again. He opened his eyes.

"No!"

* * *

The fire, He remembered the fire. But in front of everything else was her face. She was gone. She was dead. He didn't want to remember it, but he did. He didn't want to believe it had happened, but it had. Wasn't he allowed to have a normal life? The door creaked open slowly. Sam watched as Dean entered followed slowly by Kaida. He looked away. He couldn't stand it. Jessica had died in a fire. A fire! Why hadn't she done anything? She had been right. He didn't want to see her. She had been there, he had seen her. Surely if anyone could have done something to save Jess apart from him, it was Kaida. If she had done something Jess would be alive. If she had done something he wouldn't be feeling like this. He wouldn't have to re-live it again and again. That's what she was supposed to do wasn't it. That's why John had taken her in wasn't it. She was there to protect them. More than that she was a part of his old life, The life that hadn't bothered him in two years. The two were supposed to be separate, But now his old life had come to get him, had dragged him off to hunt. Then they had tried to drag him completely back into that life. Now his old life had come and taken his new life away. It had been burned away. He watched as she slowly moved over to the corner to get her bag and he lost it. He leapt out of bed and threw her against the wall.

"Sam!"

Dean yelled outraged.

"What are you doing?"

Sam held on to her shoulders and lifted her off the floor.

"Why didn't you do something?"

He demanded, but he didn't give her time to reply

"Why didn't you save her?"

She wouldn't look up at him, her hair was in front of her face. So he shook her.

"Why?"

Suddenly he was pulled away and she fell to the floor in a heap.

"Stop it Sam!"

Dean pulled him across the room and Kaida looked up at them from the floor.

"I'm sorry Sam."

As she looked up at him then, he gasped. When the hair had fallen away from her face he had seen it. There was an angry red burn across the right side of her face, A burn that couldn't be there, because Kaida was fire proof. She had never been burned by anything in her life. It just wasn't possible

"I tried Sam, but I couldn't. It was stronger than me. I couldn't stop it"

She said with tears in her eyes. Sitting there on the floor, so afraid Sam was suddenly reminded of who she was, who she really was. She wasn't just a shadow from his old life or some evil force trying to pull him back into danger. She was his little sister.

* * *

Kaida was sitting at the kitchen table nervously wringing her hands with her legs swinging unable to touch the ground.

"There's nothing to worry about, right Dean?"

Sam said sitting across from her. She had been worrying since their dad had left.

"Yeah, dad's just gone to get the paperwork sorted. He'll be back soon and then it'll be official."

Sam nudged her with his elbow.

"See, then you'll be our little sister for real."

She continued to wring her hands, little sparks flying from her finger tips.

"What if he's changed his mind?"

she asked. But before either of them could answer the door banged open and John walked in.

"Well?"

Dean asked standing up to make his father a cup of coffee.

"It's all sorted"

he said sitting down at the table.

"See!"

Sam said jumping up.

"I told you everything would be OK."

Kaida grinned and her fingers sparked brighter .

"Kaida, don't spark the air"

John said taking his coffee from Dean.

"Sorry sir"

* * *

Kaida sat against the wall with her hand covering her face. A layer of ice covered her face briefly trying to calm the burn, then it was gone and Sam saw how the burn covered the right side of her body. He noticed then for a first time the cast on her right leg and the crutches lying on the floor. Why hadn't he seen it before, how injured she was? What had happened? Sam sat back on the bed trying to get his brain to work again. Everything was wrong. Everything was upside-down. He watched blind as Dean helped Kaida up off the floor.

"I'm sorry Kaida"

he said but he felt numb. She nodded as she made her way over to the door with her bag.

"It's alright Sam, just get some rest"

And she was gone. Dean sat down on the other bed with his head in his hands. They sat in silence for a long time before Sam spoke.

"What happened Dean?"

He couldn't remember anything except Jess and the fire. Everything else was blank until he woke up in this room. After a deep breath Dean began to explain.

* * *

They had just dropped Sam off at his dorm room. Sam had chosen to leave them again. It hurt. But it was something they would both have to get used to. Kaida climbed over into the front seat as they drove around the corner. That's the way it had been for four years now, Kaida in the front seat instead of the back. Dean saw her lean over to change the music but she stopped short tilting her head to one side.

"What is it?"

He asked. He had seen that look before.

"Turn around"

she said looking back

"I can smell fire"

Dean wrenched the car around immediately .Fire was one thing Kaida knew

"Sam!"

Dean slammed on the breaks as they pulled up in front of the apartment building again and they jumped out. They ran inside as fast as they could. They reached Sam's apartment and Dean spotted Sam on the bed staring at the ceiling.

"Jess!"

Flames engulfed the room, or they would have it hadn't been for Kaida. She used all of her energy to try and restrain the flames. She held them as long as she could while Dean tried to pull Sam from the room, but she was struggling.

"Get him out of here!"

Dean grabbed his brother and dragged him towards the door. Sam was still yelling for Jessica but it was too late. She was dead. Kaida backed out after them, trying all the time to suck as much heat out of the fire as she could. But something far stronger than her was controlling it. After pulling Sam from the building Dean looked back. Supporting Sam he watched as Kaida stumbled from the building. She was just walking through the doorway when it collapsed on top of her.

* * *

"Then what happened?"

Sam asked when Dean went quiet.

"By this time the fire brigade had arrived, they dragged her out of the wreckage and paramedics took her to the hospital and I brought you here. Somehow she managed to sweet talk them into letting her go once her leg was seen to. She'll be fine, but if she'd been any further in when the building collapsed..."

Sam looked down at his hands. Dean didn't have to finish that sentence. If she had been any further in they would have lost her too.

"Then you fell asleep, she went to get a room and then you woke up and attacked her."

Sam flinched. He could tell Dean wasn't going to let that one go. Yes Sam had lost everything that night, but Kaida was the baby of the family and Dean wouldn't let anyone hurt his family, not even if they were part of it. Kaida had spent the last ten years looking out for them, but the only person who ever looked out for her was Dean.

"I didn't mean it"

Sam said defensively. Dean sighed.

"I know Sam, get some sleep."


	3. Kaida's Past

The Weapon

Chapter 3 – Kaida's Past

Kaida was sitting on her bed sharpening knives when there was a knock on the door. She sighed and stood up. It took a lot longer than it should have because of her crutches but she managed it. Still holding one of her knives along with the crutches she went up to the door and peered through the spy hole. Dean. Well who else did she expect? She unlocked the door and hobbled back to the bed.

"I'm fine Dean."

She said not even bothering to look up as he entered.

"Sam's allowed to be a bit stressed at the moment."

She added when he didn't say anything.

Dean scoffed. He wasn't convinced.

"Yeah, and that would be fine if that's the reason you're ok with it, but it isn't."

Kaida rolled her eyes but said nothing. She didn't have to, he wasn't finished.

"You think he's right don't you. You think you should have been able to stop it, whatever it was."

It may be the truth but she wasn't going to admit it, not with him standing over her like that.

"I'm. Fine."

She said emphatically looking him right in the eye, although she didn't expect him to give up so easily.

"You're not"

He said it quietly and Kaida knew that she had won for now. Even though he knew he was right, Dean knew he wouldn't get through to her that night and he didn't want to leave Sam alone for too long. And she had used that to her advantage. It wasn't fair really, he was only trying to help, trying to look after her the way he always did. But she didn't want to think about it right now. Sighing Dean threw up his hands and made for the door.

"Just get some sleep K"

Kaida nodded silently, feeling a little guilty for shutting her brother out.

After he left Kaida packed her weapons away. It was true, Dean had been right. She felt guilty about not being able to rescue Jessica. She had only met the girl once but she had meant so much to Sam. That's what she was supposed to do. It was her job to protect her family. It always had been. What use was she if she couldn't even do that? She wasn't blind; she knew exactly why John had taken her in all those years ago. She was just another weapon he used to protect his sons. No more than a shotgun or a machete, And she was ok with that. She owed the Winchesters a lot. She enjoyed her life and John had trained her well. For the first time she had been able to feel useful. To feel like her abilities were a gift not a burden. It was strange to think that she enjoyed this life so much, the same life her father had led, especially when she thought back. But the Winchesters were different from her father. To them she wasn't a monster.

_Kaida was five years old. Her mother was trying to get her ready for bed. Kaida however was more interested in listening to her father and his friends talking downstairs. They always talked about such strange things. They were talking about monsters again. Fire breathing monsters. Kaida laughed as she listened to the overheard conversations. Her silly father believing in monsters. Her mother however was not amused._

"_Come on now Kaida its time to get ready for bed."_

_A little while later Kaida listened from her bed as her father said goodnight to his friends. She threw the covers off the bed. Her mother always pulled the covers too tight and it was too warm. The duvet was put back quickly._

"_Come on Kaida, it's time to go to sleep."_

_She pulled her hands out from under the covers._

"_It's too warm" She complained._

_Her father was sniggering from the door._

"_It's not that warm." He said._

_And suddenly it wasn't. Suddenly it was very cold. Kaida grinned. Now it was better, now she could sleep. But her father wasn't laughing anymore. Her face fell. He was staring at her. She felt her mother move closer, between her and her father. Kaida looked down feeling the cold coming from her fingertips. Maybe her father thought it was too cold. Maybe that's why he was upset. She tried to fix it. She wanted it to be warm again and it was. Fire came from her fingers this time. But it didn't make things better._

_Suddenly she was lifted up into her mother's arms and they were running for the door. Her father was too quick for them blocking the way._

"_Did you know about this?" he asked her mother a knife suddenly in his hand._

"_Get out of my way" Her mother said pulling away from him_

"_You're not touching my daughter!"_

_But he wouldn't let them go._

"_She's not our daughter anymore. She's evil. She has to be destroyed"_

_Kaida was pulled closer against her mother's body._

"_Get out of my way" Her mother said._

_Kaida had never been so scared. Then the world moved unexpectedly. Her father had lunged forward catching her mother in the stomach with the knife. But she refused to go down. Kaida watched as her mother put her hand out towards him and the room was cold again, her mother was like her. Then they were running down the stairs as fast as her mother could carry them._

"_I'll catch you!" He yelled down the stairs._

_Eventually they reached the front door. Kaida was thrown into the passenger side of her mother's small car and they were driving as fast as they could, as far as they could._

"_Are we evil?" She asked quietly curled up in a ball, and shaking._

_Her father had tried to kill her. He thought she was a monster. Like the things he talked about with his friends._

"_No honey, we're not evil. Hunters just can't understand us. I don't know why we are the way we are. But we're not evil"_

_When Kaida looked up she could see tears in her mother's eyes as she continued_

"_You just have to be careful Kaida. Don't let anyone know what you can do"_

_They had gotten as far as a small nowhere town before Kaida's mother finally collapsed. Kaida had no idea where they were. She leaned over to the driver's seat. Her mother wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing. Some people came out to help but it was too late. Kaida was alone._

Kaida followed her mother's advice for as long as she could. Until the day three hunters came to that little town and her life was changed forever.

Kaida played with the pendant around her neck. It had been her mother's, the only thing she had left of her. It was a small green stone streaked with red and gold. Her mother had done so much for her in such a short period of time. Maybe if they had had a little more time together they could have figured out why they were the way they were. Maybe she should have spent some time researching the subject. But she had been afraid of what she might find and how her family would react. Deep down she still wondered whether her father had been right all those years ago. What would happen if she discovered something horrible about herself? She didn't want to know if she was supposed to be evil. She wanted to keep living the life she lived now, with her family.

Yes, she had a family again and she would do anything she could to keep it that way. The trip to Jericho had been wonderful, The three of them travelling together again, as if they had never been apart.

_She was sitting in the back seat reading over the case files while Dean went to get them supplies and Sam was rifling through Dean's cassettes._

"_Hey you want breakfast"_

_Dean threw some food into the back seat and waved the rest at Sam._

"_No thanks. So how'd you pay for that stuff? You and dad still running credit card scams"_

_That's the way they lived. Money was hard to come by and they needed it to live._

"_Yeah well…hunting ain't exactly a pro-ball career. Besides, all we do is apply, it's not our fault they send us the cards."_

_Sam rolled his eyes and Kaida bit into her breakfast bar. She enjoyed listening to them talk. It made her feel at home._

"_Yeah and what names did you write on the application this time?"_

_Dean got into the car and passed a bottle of water back to Kaida._

"_Uh…Bert Aframian and his son, Hector. Scored two cards out of the deal."_

_Sam turned around in his seat to talk to her._

"_What they still won't let you get a card."_

_Kaida scoffed._

"_No. It sucks"_

_Dean laughed looking at her in the mirror._

"_Hey I give you an allowance."_

_He teased deliberately trying to wind her up._

_She groaned._

"_I'm twenty-two Dean. Twenty-two. I'm not a child."_

_Sam was still looking through the tapes but he was laughing quietly._

"_And you spend all of your allowance on sweets Kaida" Dean argued._

_Sam laughed loudly at that. He glanced at Kaida, before turning to Dean._

"_Sounds about right. I swear man; you gotta update your cassette-tape collection."_

_Dean looked affronted at that suggestion which made Kaida laugh even harder._

"_Why?"_

"_Well for one they are cassette tapes, and two— Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica? It's the greatest hits of mullet rock."_

"_Hey. I'm not the only one who likes it right K?"_

_Kaida laughed harder._

"_Yeah, but it wouldn't do you any harm to listen to some newer stuff Dean. There was life after classic rock you know"_

_Dean groaned._

"_See what you've done Sammy. You're a bad influence. Kaida never complains about this stuff when you're not here. Besides it's the rules. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake hole. Same goes for you Fire-Bint"_

_Kaida rolled her eyes and leant forward. She took one of the tapes, at random, from the box and put it into the player._

"_There. Tapes in. Happy now Jerk?" She asked sitting back again. They all laughed as the car pulled away._

Briefly Kaida wondered whether that's what had happened tonight. Had she been so desperate for Sam to come back, that she had restrained herself. Stopped herself from saving Jessica. Was it possible that she was that fucked up, That desperate for them to be a family again?

No, she hadn't held back, she didn't even know how. She had put everything she could into stopping the fire. She knew that. Her abilities were instinctual. She used them without thinking. There was no way she could do anything but her best. But that brought other questions to mind. That meant that there was something out there even stronger than she was. Something that was better than her at what she did, what made her special and unique. Something out there was better than her at what made her her, what made her a weapon. Would John have even considered taking her in if her special ability had been something else, anything else? He had been ecstatic the moment he discovered that not only could she control not only ice but fire as well. And why wouldn't he be, one thing John feared more than anything else was fire.

_Kaida was shaking as she sat in the back of the car. It was one thing to save a group of hunters from some creepy bat things, but it was another thing entirely to drive off somewhere with them. When John had dropped her off at the orphanage the day before, after the whole Harpy incident, he had made her promise to meet them the next day. He wanted to discuss her abilities, to find out exactly what she could do. And now here she was in the back of his car, with her friend Sam beside her and his brother Dean in the front. She was terrified. How could she have been so stupid the night before?_

_Unfortunately she knew the answer to that. She hadn't wanted them to get hurt, her friend or his brother, or the man who had come in, who she later realised was their dad. She had broken the one promise she had made to her mother for these people and she didn't know why._

_Finally the car stopped and she got out. They were in the middle of nowhere, or at least that was what it looked like. There was a small wooden cabin but not much else apart from trees. He's going to kill me anyway, Kaida thought. No matter what he said he's going to kill me, that's what hunters do, they kill people like me._

"_Don't worry Kaida, I just want to know what you can do" John said before wandering off to set up some targets._

_Soon the four of them where standing there looking at the remnants of the targets John had set up, some shattered into tiny pieces and some smouldering piles of Ash._

"_I'm sorry about the targets" Kaida said quietly, but John was grinning from ear to ear._

"_Boy's I think it's about time you had a sister."_

Kaida smiled at the memory of that night. John had been so happy. It was only later that she learned about what happened to their mother, and why John was so pleased to have her around. If they ever did find the thing that had killed his wife it would be useful to have someone like her around. Who better to protect his sons than someone who loved them like a sister and protect them from the fire. But now, now she had come across something far stronger than she was. Something that could very well be the creature John feared most, the creature he had been looking for all these years. What use was she now?

Either explanation of the nights events scared her and she Still she wasn't sure which worried her more. The idea that she could hold back without knowing it, in order to get her family back, or that there was something out there stronger than her. Whichever way she looked at it she had failed.


	4. As the real world comes crashing back in

The Weapon

Chapter 4 – As the real world comes crashing in

The next morning Kaida was awoken by a scream from next door. She shot out of bed, momentarily forgetting the cast. Next door! Sam and Dean were next door. She grabbed her crutches and cursed her broken leg with every step. With a frustrated yell she made her way across the room and outside. Frustrated at her slow progress she stumbled over to their door. When she got there however it was locked. Stupid. Of course it would be locked. She banged on the door and It opened almost instantaneously, as if Dean had been waiting for her to knock.

"It's alright Kaida, Sammy had a nightmare" He said standing aside to let her in.

Sam was sitting up in bed with his head in his hands. She hobbled over to the bed with Dean close behind.

Sam had his legs pulled up in front of him so Kaida sat sideways in front of him and turned resting her head on her arms on top of his knees, while the crutches lay forgotten on the floor.

"Hey Sammy, You Ok" she asked.

"It's Sam" Was the muffled reply.

Dean stood watching them from across the room. They could be 12 again the two of them sitting there like that. He could almost imagine their dad was standing in the doorway watching to make sure everything was ok.

"Do you want me to sneak out to the vending machine and get you some candy?" She asked sweetly making them all laugh.

_Kaida had been travelling with them for a couple of weeks now. She was getting used to life on the road. John was out on a hunt so Dean was making them dinner. A very nutritious bowl of spaghetti hoops each. Kaida dug hungrily into her bowl making the others laugh._

"_How can someone so small eat so much?"_

_Kaida stopped abruptly. Dean had been joking but she hadn't realised it._

"_I don't mean to eat so much" She said hiding behind her hair nervously._

"_He didn't mean it like that K. Did you Dean?"_

_Sam put a hand on her shoulder looking eagerly up at his brother._

"_Yeah, you're part of the family now."_

_Later Dean watched as Kaida and Sam sat at the table doing their homework. It was good to have someone else around. Kaida would be good for them he could tell. But she still wasn't comfortable around them. It was as if she thought John would change his mind at any second. They would have to do their best to let her know she fit in. Little did he know an opportunity to do just that would occur that very night._

_That night Sam had another of his nightmares. He had them from time to time. One of the many disadvantages of the evil they were all exposed too. Dean tried for a long time to calm him down but he wouldn't stop crying. He was absolutely terrified._

"_Do you want some candy Sammy? I've got chocolate."_

_The brothers looked up. Standing in the doorway was Kaida, her arms full of candy from the vending machine outside. She sat down on the bed in front of Sam and laid everything out on the bedspread._

"_You're not supposed to go out Kaida"_

_Dean chastised standing up to close the door. He wasn't really angry. Sam had stopped crying after all and that was the important thing. But she really shouldn't be going out by herself, powers or not. She obviously thought he was really angry because when he turned back around she was holding out a bag of M&M's. He grabbed them and sat down._

"_You're like the best little sister ever" Sam said chewing on a chocolate bar._

"_Sister?" Kaida asked in shock with a grin on her face._

_It would take a long time for her to get used to that. But over time it had sunk in._

Dean was brought out of his thoughts when a bag of sweets hit him on the head. He looked down to see a bag of M&M's off all things.

"Did you go out again?" He asked incredulously seeing a pile of chocolate on the bedspread.

"You know you're not supposed to go out by yourself."

She rolled her eyes.

"You're just too easy to sneak past" She said innocently

"Even with my crutches."

He couldn't believe she had done that without him noticing.

Within an hour they were all dressed. They had sat for a few minutes just eating chocolate and reminiscing about their childhood. It had been exactly what each had needed. Just a moment to act as if they really were children again, Eating as much candy as they could before John came home and told them off, But unfortunately it was only a moment and then they had to deal with the real world again and everything that had happened the night before.

Sam had to meet with the police again that morning, They wanted a statement that was all, But still he was nervous. Not as nervous as Dean was however. Dean hated police. In fact Dean had disappeared, apparently to get them all some much needed coffee, but actually he had gone to escape. Kaida wasn't there either. She had gone back to her own rooms to get changed. She hadn't really cared earlier, when she had come stumbling through to make sure that her brothers where ok. But now that they had things to do she was very aware of the fact that she was sitting in nothing but hand me down boxer shorts and an oversized T-shirt. So she had gone to get dressed.

Unfortunately that left Sam on his own to get his story straight. That was incredibly difficult however when he didn't even want to think about the night before.

"It'll be fine" A voice said from the doorway.

"You always say that K" Sam replied putting his shoes on without turning around.

"And I'm always right." She stated firmly sitting next to him on the bed.

Sam laughed.

"No you're not."

She smiled, No she wasn't always right. And she hated the police as much as they did. She didn't trust anyone except her family. And now she had let them down. That morning had done very little to stop her guilt. It had been a nice distraction but her worries had come crashing back down around her. She still felt terrible about the night before. She still felt useless.

"Hey Kaida." Sam said after a few moments of silence.

"It wasn't you're fault"

She just shook her head.

"You'd better get going Sammy"

She stood up then and wondered over to the laptop and started to do some research, refusing to continue the conversation. It worked, but only because Sam had worries and guilt of his own.

While Dean drove Sam to the police station Kaida sat alone with the computer. There was not much else she could do. She wasn't sitting in her own room though. She was sitting in theirs. She felt more at home around all their stuff. They were the only family she had, and this was the only life she knew. She had never even thought of walking away from this. What else could she do? She couldn't live a normal life like Sam could. Even Dean would give this life up eventually. She had no idea what she would do then, although she knew that she would never sto worrying about them or protecting them. But that didn't matter at the moment.

She had work to do. She had to find as much information on the thing that had killed Jessica as she could. She couldn't save her, but she could find the thing that killed her. She could find something. She could help. Prove that she wasn't useless. If she did this, maybe she could make up for everything.

Kaida was brought out of her thoughts when a phone rang. It wasn't hers. She had hers sitting next to her. It was Sam's. He must have left it behind by accident. She looked at his bag. Great, it was all the way on the other side of the room. She hobbled over to Sam's ringing bag. She was really getting annoyed at this splint on her leg. How was she supposed to do anything like this? How was she supposed to hunt? Finally she leant down and pulled the phone out up. By that time however it had stopped ringing. There was one missed call listed on the screen. 'Jessica's Parents' it said. Crap. She hadn't thought about how Jessica's death would affect other people. All she saw was how it affected Sam. There would be so many people. And there was so much to do. No doubt Jessica's parents had been informed by the police of what happened. They would be anxious to speak to Sam. To find out what really happened, to make sure he was alright. Hoping against hope that the police had been wrong. Hoping that Sam would tell them it was all a misunderstanding, That they were both fine, that their daughter wasn't dead.

Sam would have to shatter their hopes. He would have to tell them what had happened the night before. He would have to meet with them. To attend the funeral. It wasn't fair. All he had wanted was a nice normal safe life. Yes, Kaida didn't like that Sam wanted a normal life, that their life wasn't enough for him. But she didn't want Sam to have to say goodbye to that like this. She had wanted this to work for Sam. She had wanted him to be happy.

A few hours later Kaida and Dean were sitting in her room while Sam talked to Mr and Mrs Moore. She hadn't wanted to tell him, but she had to. He needed to speak to them, no matter how painful it would be. And the quicker they got through this the quicker they could move on and get Sam to heal.

"How long are we going to be here?" She asked.

She was sick of this place. She wanted to be on the road again. She didn't even care where, anywhere but here.

"As soon as Sam finishes on the phone we can go back through."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know. We have to look into this thing. Sam won't leave until after the funeral anyway."

She nodded. Yeah she knew that. But they weren't finding anything. Nothing. They had practically nothing to go on and that worried her. Even what they did have, didn't give her any peace. How could they find something that John had been searching for, for over 20years?

"Kaida?"

"Yeah"

Dean seemed to hesitate before continuing, as if the question was incredibly difficult for him to ask.

"What happened last night?"

"What do you mean?"

Yes she was stalling for time. She knew exactly what he meant but she didn't want to think about it, she had done enough of that last night.

"Why couldn't you..."

"I don't know" She snapped, unwilling to let him finish the question.

"I don't know what happened. Whatever caused the fire was strong. A lot stronger than me."

"That's never happened before Kaida. What could do that?"

That was the very question she had been avoiding asking herself.

"I don't know Dean, I really don't"

"Could it be another...?"

"Another what?"

"You know someone like you. There have to be other's right. It can't be just you and your mother."

Kaida's hand went to her pendant automatically. She had no idea.

"I don't know. Even if it was, that doesn't help us."

"It would be a start"

"No it wouldn't. We don't even know what I am? We don't know why I can do what I can, where it comes from or anything. Whatever this thing is, If it is like me, then how can you trust me at all. I mean..."

"What?" Dean shouted stopping her in her rant.

He could see where this was going. Could see what she was thinking. And he wasn't going to let her get away with it.

"You're a person Kaida. That's it. You're a person who can do strange things. And people do horrible things or they do good. And you do good."

"That wasn't a person Dean, that was something else, Something Evil. I could feel it. I could feel the power it had, it's single minded determination. It was oppressive, like a thick oily black sludge trying to press itself inside me. It was pure evil. And you said it yourself, It could be someone like me and maybe deep down I'm evil."

Although she had been thinking these things all of her life it was the first time she had actually vocalised it and she could see the anger clearly on Dean's face.

"What the Hell K? That is crap!"

But before they could get into a full blown argument they were interrupted.

"He's right K, that's crap."

They both looked up to see Sam in the doorway. Neither had any idea how long he had been standing there.

"And I don't think it was someone like you Kaida. I think it was a demon."


	5. The Funeral

The Weapon

Chapter 5 – The Funeral

A couple of gruelling days later Sam stood by the graveside, as his girlfriend's coffin was lowered into the ground. I'm so sorry, he thought. There was really nothing else he could say. Across from him stood Jessica's parents. He had met them a few times before. When he had returned from the police station and Kaida had given him his phone he had remembered them for the first time. There would be so many people devastated by Jessica's death. His guilt increased enormously with that thought. He had no idea what to say to any of them.

A little way off two figures stood watching him. Dean and Kaida stood back from the others. They wanted to be there for Sam but they didn't want to intrude.

"Do you think it would have been better if we hadn't come to get him?" Dean asked suddenly.

"No" Kaida replied.

"I don't think it would have saved her. And if we hadn't been here..."

Dean nodded.

"If we hadn't been here, he wouldn't have gotten out." He finished although he really didn't need to do.

As they stood side by side they each thought about meeting Jessica.

_Kaida watched from across the room as Sam talked to his friends. She wasn't surprised that he hadn't seen her. She always had been very good at hiding. It was her size she supposed. She would have to make herself known eventually, but she hadn't spoken to him in two years and he hadn't lived with them in four. She had seen him between times. She had come to California often enough just to make sure he was OK. It was her job. But he hadn't seen her. It was a big day from him. She knew that. She had kept track of him as much as possible. She had hacked into the college system hundreds of times over the years. Today she had hacked in again. He had done incredibly well. She didn't want to shatter that too soon._

_The idea wasn't to convince him to help them just yet. She was just here to remind him that they existed. To let him know that he was being watched over all this time, no matter what John had said before. She watched as first the guy and then the girl walked away leaving Sam on his own, One to the bar and the other to the toilets. She had seen them both before, when she had been watching Sam. They were friends of his, obviously here helping him celebrate his results. But What were they doing bringing him here to celebrate, some Halloween party. Sam hated Halloween, didn't they know that, he always had. Or had Sam changed that much? No that wasn't possible. She looked around. Everyone was dressed up, wearing costumes. Even she had made the effort, a simple witches hat and a long dress, not wishing to stand out. But Sam wasn't._

_Slowly Kaida picked up her drink and made her way to Sam's table. _

"_Hey stranger." She said as she came up behind him. _

_He spun around. _

"_Kaida?"_

_He smiled and pulled her into a hug before he realised what he was doing. His face fell as he pulled back to look at her. _

"_What are you doing here?"He asked. _

_Before she could answer however the girl came back. _

"_Sam?"_

_Kaida turned towards her extending her hand. _

"_Hi, I'm Kaida"_

_Her hand was taken with a look of confusion before a smile crossed the girls face. _

"_Kaida? Oh Kaida, you're Sam's sister." _

_Kaida nodded._

"_Foster sister, but close enough"_

_Sam stood next to the girl and put his arm around her. The point he was trying to make was not lost on the female hunter. It didn't matter that she was here. Sam's life wasn't out on the road anymore. Sam's life was here and he wasn't going to leave. Sam had a new family now and a new life. She, and Dean and John they were all surplus to requirements._

"_Kaida this is my girlfriend Jessica."_

_Girlfriend? Kaida thought. That explained all the time Sam spent with this girl. But he hadn't even bothered to tell them. He hadn't called or written in such a long time. If she hadn't followed him the last time she had been here, they wouldn't even know where he lived. He hadn't bothered to give them his new address the last time he moved. Why was this girl so much more important than them? _

"_Nice to finally meet you" She said instead. _

"_What are you doing here Kaida?" Sam asked again, daring her to say something in a room full of civilians. _

"_Well I knew you were getting your results today, so I thought I'd come down and see how it went." _

_She saw his eyes widen slightly and knew what he was thinking. How? How did she know?_

"_He did fantastically!" Jessica said, obviously proud of him. _

"_He scored a 174." _

_Sam ducked his head, he had never been good at receiving compliments._

"_That's wonderful Sam" Kaida said, genuinely happy for him. Maybe he had been right to walk away._

"_Yeah. Well I've got an interview on Monday. A law school interview." _

_So he really was planning to take this normal life thing all the way to the end. And he wanted her to know that. Kaida nodded but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. _

"_That's fantastic Sam, I'm sure you'll do great."_

_Kaida watched from the shadows as Sam and Jessica made their way home. She knew he wouldn't leave this life voluntarily. He was set on his normal life, and he was actually doing it. He had a girlfriend, an apartment, he was doing well. She was happy for him, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed that he was taking to it so easily. She knew it was selfish but she wanted her family back._

_She followed them all the way until they walked through the front door and then turned going back the way she had come. After a couple of minutes she reached a dark car park. Walking right to the back she stopped in front of the Impala. _

"_How is he?" Dean asked. _

_She leant on the bonnet of the car next to him as she spoke._

"_He's fine. He's happy. He won't want to come." _

_He nodded, but she could see that he wasn't so convinced. _

"_We'll see." _

_Kaida looked over at him. _

"_He doesn't want this life anymore Dean. He's found a way out." _

_Neither of them wanted it to be true but it was. _

"_We have to try. We have to find dad. We need him" _

_That itself wasn't true, at least not in the way he had said it. They didn't need him to find John. But they needed him all the same. There had been an emptiness ever since Sam had left. For a long time they had been a team the four of them, but now Sam had broken away and John was missing. Their family was falling apart._

"_He's got a girlfriend. Jessica something. They're living together." _

_Dean stood up _

"_I'll just have to be careful then." _

_Kaida rolled her eyes as she stood. _

"_You're not still planning on breaking in." _

_He smirked. _

"_You bet your ass I am"_

The two watched as people made their way out of the Cemetery and Sam stayed where he was. They watched as Jessica's parents spoke to Sam before leaving hand in hand. Sam didn't turn to watch them go. He just stood there, not moving. Not wanting to leave her. Again Dean wondered if they had done the right thing taking Sam away from this life, even if it had only been for a couple of days.

_He pried the window open and climbed through. He knew Sam would hear him. He would be really disappointed if he didn't. It would take more than a couple of years to lose all that training. As silently as he could he crept through the living room. Where was the kitchen, he could do with a beer. Suddenly he was tackled to the floor and after a small struggle Sam was underneath him. He looked the same, same old Sammy. _

"_Whoa, easy, tiger." _

"_Dean?"_

_He was shocked to see him, regardless of Kaida's appearance earlier. Maybe he was losing his touch._

"_You scared the crap out of me." _

"_That's because you're out of practice"_

_Then Sam spun them so that he was on top and they stood up. _

"_Dean, what the hell are you doing here?" _

"_Well I was looking for a beer." _

"_What the hell are you doing here?" _

"_Okay, all right, we gotta talk." _

"_Uh, the phone?" _

"_If I'd have called, would you have picked up?"_

_The light came on. _

"_Sam?" _

_There was a beautiful blonde standing wearing very little. So, Dean thought, this must be Jessica. The girl Kaida had met earlier._

"_Jess, hey. Dean, this is my girlfriend Jessica" _

_She smiled. _

"_Wait, your brother Dean? First your sister, then your brother?" _

_Sam nodded obviously realising what had happened. Time to relieve the tension, Dean thought, plastering on a cheeky smile. _

"_I love the Smurfs. You know I gotta tell you, you are completely out of my brother's league." _

_Cue the smirk. _

"_Just let me put something on."_

_Good if she left they could talk properly. He had to keep up the cocky persona though._

"_No, no, no, I wouldn't dream of it…Seriously. Anyway, I gotta borrow your boyfriend here, talk about some private family business, but, uh, nice meeting you."_

_That had been the wrong thing to say, he thought as Sam moved to stand across from him and next to her. _

"_No. No. Whatever you wanna say you can say it in front of her."_

_Crap. He couldn't do that. He doubted that Sam had told this girl what they did, no matter how serious he was about her. Think fast Dean._

"_Okay. Um…dad hasn't been home in a few days." _

"_So he's working over-time on a 'Miller Time' shift; he'll stumble back in sooner or later."_

_Great, Sammy play up the drinking. That's the way it had always been. The excuse they used to explain John's odd behaviour. Yes the man enjoyed a drink, but he wasn't half as bad as they always made him out to be. If he was he wouldn't be the fantastic hunter that he was. _

"_Dad's on a __hunting__ trip and he hasn't been home in a few days."_

_That got his attention. Maybe now they could actually talk._

"_Jess, excuse us. We have to go outside."_

_Finally he had managed to get Sam to follow him outside and they were on their way to the Impala_

"_You think mom would have wanted this for us?"Sam asked as they left the building._

"_The weapon training and melting the silver into bullets? Man, Dean, we were raised like warriors."_

_They walked towards the car. Dean had had enough. Enough of Sam criticising the life they led. Complaining about the way things were. Was this life really that bad? Couldn't he just make the best of it and enjoy their life. The way that he did, the way that Kaida did?_

"_So, what are you gonna do? You just gonna live some normal, apple-pie life? Is that it?" _

"_No. Not normal. Safe" _

_They had been safe, Safer than most people. They had the ultimate Body guard and they knew what was out there in the dark, knew how to stop it. Wasn't that safer than not knowing, Safer than living in ignorance._

"_And that's why you ran away?" _

_He couldn't believe that Sam would think like that. That he had hated their life enough to leave it completely. Weren't they enough of a reason to stay. Had it been worth it?_

"_I was just going to college. It was dad who said if I was gonna go, I should stay gone. And that's what I'm doing."_

_John had been angry and disappointed, but it hadn't really meant it. He had sent Kaida here to check on Sam hundreds of times over the years, If he hadn't who knows what would have happened to Sam._

"_Yeah well dad's in real trouble if he's not dead already, I can feel it. We can't do this alone." _

"_Yes you can." _

"_Yeah. Well, we don't want to." _

"_What was he hunting?"Sam asked, finally giving up. _

_Dean had known that he would. Maybe Sam wouldn't leave this new life completely but they were still family. _

"_All right, let's see. Where the hell did I put that thing?"_

_Dean rifled through the trunk looking for the Dictaphone. _

"_So when dad left, why didn't you go with him?" Sam asked, curiosity getting the best of him. _

"_I was working my own gig. This voodoo thing down in New Orleans" _

"_Where was Kaida?"_

_Dean stopped for a second. Kaida had been here, watching over Sam._

"_She had her own gig" He said instead. _

_Sam probably wouldn't take to well to being watched._

"_Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourself?" _

"_I'm 26, dude. Besides he lets Kaida hunt by herself all the time, and she's younger than you"_

"_That's different Dean. Kaida's got superpowers" _

_Dean looked off towards the corner of the building, where he knew Kaida was watching._

"_If she heard you say that she'd be pissed"_

_Sam grinned. Yeah she would._

"_Anyway what was this case?"_

Dean looked up from his thoughts. It was about time they got Sam out of here. They had been here long enough. It wasn't healthy. And he didn't just mean the cemetery. It was time they got out of this town. They had been here for far too long. They had found nothing and their father was getting further away every minute. They had co-ordinates. It was time they followed them. Hopefully they would become whole again along the way.


	6. On the Road

The Weapon

Chapter 6 – On The Road

They were on the road again. Driving for hours without stopping. This was something they were used to. Sam was asleep in the passenger seat, Kaida spread out with her broken leg in the back seat, looking over maps and Dean was driving. This was something they have been doing together for a long time. A decade ago it had been the four of them. Dean remembered the first long journey together.

_It was the middle of the night as John bundled three children into his car. They had to get out of town as secretly as possible. John had finally gotten the whole story out of Kaida, Her whole history. And now that he had sorted out all of the legalities of adopting her it was time to move on quietly. No hunter would give up on a hunt no matter how many years passed. And if Kaida's father was still alive, he would be looking for her to finish the job, it was a miracle he hadn't already. John had meant what he had said before. He did not think that she was evil. He wasn't going to let this man find her. They would leave as quietly as possible so that no one would know which way they had gone._

_Dean climbed into the front seat after pushing Sam and Kaida into the back. Within seconds they were asleep, but Dean stayed awake. He watched his father start the car and pull out onto the road. He didn't bother to ask where they were going. It didn't matter. They were moving again. It was part of who they were._

"_They won't catch us dad" Dean said. _

_He knew where his father's mind had gone. He had seen the cogs moving as Kaida told her tale. Besides he had heard it long before his father had. And his worries had been the same. _

"_That's the plan" John said as he drove faster. _

_In the back seat Sam and Kaida slept on._

This was constant. This was how they lived. Dean looked over at Sam and then turned to look at the back seat. These were the quiet times in between hunts. This was where they took a breath and took the time to recover. And a long time ago it had been a time to play games and to be a family.

_They were on the move again. A couple of weeks spent in one place so that they could go to school, but now they were moving. This time the sun was up and there were three bodies in the back seat. Three children playing word games and teasing each other. Although still quiet most of the time Kaida joined in._

_Today it was 'I spy' and it was Kaida's turn. _

"_I spy with my little eye, something beginning with..."_

_She stopped for a second thinking. _

"_Come on K" Dean said impatiently. _

"_It's not that difficult." _

_He rubbed his face. He had a black eye from helping John on a recent hunt and it still hurt a bit. Kaida looked at him before she continued. _

"_I spy with my little eye something beginning with B P H."_

_Sam looked at her confused. _

"_You can't have three letters" He said elbowing her. _

_She elbowed him straight back. _

"_Yes I can its three words long so I have to give you three letters."_

"_That's true boy" John said from the front seat looking at them in the mirror. _

"_If it's more than one word you have to give more than one letter." _

_Sam grinned, it wasn't often their father joined in. _

"_Alright, alright. BPH." _

_After nearly twenty minutes both brothers and father had given up. _

"_Bilateral Periobilal Hematoma" Kaida declared triumphantly pointing at Dean. _

"_What are you talking about K?" He huffed. _

_He wasn't sure he wanted anything like that on his face. _

"_It's a black eye Dean" John said from the front and Sam giggled. _

"_Yeah Dean it was in one of our textbooks. Remember, you helped us study." _

_Great, Dean thought, another Geek in the family._

Dean laughed to himself.

"What's so funny?" A voice asked him from the back.

"Shh" Dean said indicating Sam.

"I was just thinking about that time you cheated at 'I spy'" He said glancing back again.

"I didn't cheat Dean."

This was an argument they had had many times over the years.

"I could clearly see a black eye. It's not my fault you didn't know the technical term."

Dean grinned in the mirror.

"Yes K, but I couldn't see it. And the rules say that everyone has to be able to see it."

Just then Sam jumped in his seat waking instantly.

"You OK?" Dean asked.

"Yeah I'm fine"

He sat up straight.

"Another nightmare?"

Dean continued glancing in the mirror.

"Leave it" Kaida mouthed knowing that Sam won't want to talk about it.

"You wanna drive for a while?" Dean asked instead.

"In your whole life, you never once asked me that."

"Just thought you might want to, never mind"

"I'll drive"Kaida said from the back.

But she knew what would happen.

"NO!" Sam and Dean yelled together.

"You have a cast" Dean reminded her before turning back to Sam.

"So you don't want to?"

"Look man, you're worried about me, I get it and thank you but I'm perfectly okay."

Dean wasn't convinced, but then Sam changed the subject.

"All right…where are we?"

"We are just outside of Grand Junction."

Kaida passed Sam the map, knowing he would need the distraction.

"You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon."

"Sam we dug around there for a week, we came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica… "

"We gotta find dad first."

"Dad disappearing, and this thing showing up again after twenty years, it's no coincidence. Dad will have answers; he'll know what to do."

Well, Kaida thought. This wasn't much of a distraction.

"Hey can we stop somewhere. I'm starving!"

Dean rolled his eyes but pulled over at the next opportunity. He could always rely on Kaida to tell him when it was time for lunch.

After lunch they pulled up in front of a Ranger's station. As the boys got out of the car Kaida opened the door and started to shuffle out. She stopped when a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Not this time K"

"But"

"No buts"

"I make a way more convincing student than you Dean Winchester"

"You still have your cast on genius"

"What and students never break their leg"

"No, Kaida"

He pushed her back in and closed the door. Quicker than she could respond he had locked her in.

"I hate you" She mouthed before he walked away.

She hated being left behind. It was her job to protect them. It always had been. It was a responsibility she had accepted her first night in the Winchester home.

_Kaida walked through to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. John was there cleaning weapons before leaving to check out another case._

"_Where are the boys?"_

_She looked back towards the open bedroom door._

"_They're asleep sir"_

_He nodded. Out of the corner of his eye he watched her sit down and look at the weapons. She leant over and picked one of the knifes up._

"_Would you like to learn how to use one of these?"He asked as he started to pack his things away. _

_He didn't take the knife away from her however._

"_I thought I was one of these" She said honestly, not looking away from the blade._

"_What makes you say that Kaida?"_

_She shrugged._

"_That's why I'm here isn't it. So you've got someone to look after the boys while you're away."_

_She looked up at him. John was rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the table. She had caught him out. A 12yr old had seen through him._

"_I don't mind. It's good to be useful. What's the point in being able to do what I can do and not use it? If I can help, why shouldn't I?"_

_John shouldered his bag_

"_Alright. When I get back I'm going to teach you how to use some of these weapons. In the meantime look after them OK."_

_He gestured towards the bedroom door._

"_Yes Sir"_

Kaida could see them moving about through the window of the ranger's station. Now John had been gone a lot longer than he ever had before. Alright maybe they were adults now, but it was unusual for him not to call. Even when he didn't phone Sam or Dean, he would usually contact Kaida on the sly just to find out how the boys were. She looked at her phone. She hadn't heard anything from him in a while. Not that they didn't manage well enough on their own.

_Kaida listened in as Dean used the phone booth. They were in Jericho working on the case. That of course had been made slightly more difficult by Dean getting arrested. Dean had of course managed to get himself out and was now phoning Sam._

"_Fake 911 phone call Sammy? I don't know, that's pretty illegal." _

_She couldn't hear Sam's side of the conversation but that didn't matter. She was here to give Dean a lift._

"_Listen, we gotta talk" _

"_Sammy would you shut up for a second." _

"_Well that's what I'm trying to tell you. He's gone. Dad left Jericho."_

_That got her attention. She had figured John wasn't here when she had seen the motel room. But Dean had confirmed it. _

"_I've got his journal."_

_The journal. John never went anywhere without it. _

"_Yeah, well he did this time."_

_Well it appeared Sam had said something along the same lines. _

"_Same old ex-marine crap when he wants to let us know where he's going." _

_At least that was a clue. Personally she doubted that the coordinates led to John. He was sending them towards something._

"_I'm not sure yet." _

_There was a long silence. Then when Dean did talk again, he sounded panicked._

"_Sam? Sam!" _

_Kaida's eyes widened. Dean was looking panicked as he hung up the phone. She went up to the phone booth and tapped on the glass. There had been a car down the road with the key's still inside. She waved the keys at Dean through the glass._

"_Need a ride someplace" She said. _

_His face lit up._

"_No, but I'll take those keys."_

_Soon they were pulling up in front of Constance Welch's house. They could see the impala parked not very far away. They leapt out of the car seeing Sam struggle with the spirit._

"_You can't kill me. I'm not unfaithful. I've never been."_

_Dean drew his gun and fired a couple of shots into the spirit. Kaida rolled her eyes and sent a frost towards the spirit. Neither did very much, but it was enough to distract her. _

"_I'm taking you home."_

_Sam put the car in gear and drove straight into the wall. In normal circumstances Kaida would have laughed at Dean's face._

"_Sam!"_

_Instead she ran into the building with Dean beside her._

"_Sam! You okay?"_

"_I think." _

"_Can you move?" _

"_Yeah. Help me"_

_Suddenly they were all held in place by a large cabinet. And the spirit Constance was throwing them a dirty look, so Kaida threw a fire ball at her out of principle alone. The lights flickered slightly and then the spirits of Constance's children were in front of them all._

"_You've come home to us mommy." _

_The children grabbed onto her and the three disappeared. Finally they were able to push the dresser away._

"_So this is where she drowned her kids" _

"_That's why she could never go home. She was too scared to face them." _

"_You found her weak spot. Nice work Sammy". _

"_I wish I could say the same for you. What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?"_

"_What? What about Kaida trying to freeze the bitch. And while we're on it, what was the fire ball in aid of?"_

"_She was glaring at me, I had to do something. And besides, if I hadn't stolen that car, you would still be at the police station right now."_

"_Anyway we saved your ass Sammy. I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car, I'll kill you."_

A knocking on the roof brought Kaida out of her thoughts. The boys were back and they were ready to move on to the motel.


	7. Looking Out For Sam

The Weapon

Chapter 7 – Looking out for Sam

Sam and Dean were walking through the trees following the guy Roy that Hayley had hired. They had left Kaida back in the motel room. She had not been happy about that. Not one bit.

_Kaida was sitting on one of the beds sulking. She had been in a foul mood ever since the boys had suggested she stay behind._

"_It's not fair. What am I supposed to do while you're off having fun?"_

_Dean grinned as he packed the last couple of things into his bag._

"_It's work Kaida. It's not supposed to be fun."_

_Kaida said nothing but raised her eyebrows accusingly._

"_Alright. Maybe sometimes it is fun, but you're still staying here."_

"_Dean's right K. You've got a broken leg"_

_OK, she had to give them that one. She couldn't exactly hobble around the woods._

"_But I've got nothing to do" She complained. _

_She looked like a sulking child, arms crossed and pounting._

"_Tough Kaida. You're staying here and that's that."_

_Kaida sat staring at the wall with her arms crossed, like a child in a huff wanting to convey they weren't talking to you. Usually she wouldn't have bothered to sulk. Usually she would have agreed sweetly and then followed them without them knowing. But with her cast she wouldn't be able to do that and she was angry. Just before he reached the door Dean turned around._

"_Hey Kaida, catch"_

_He threw a brand new looking book at her. She looked up at him and grinned before becoming engrossed in the new book. It wasn't often they got new things._

"What was the book anyway?" Sam asked as they continued on their way.

Dean laughed.

"Unexplained Mysteries of North America."

They laughed together. If there was one thing that would keep Kaida busy it was a mystery. She prided herself on being an incredible hunter and not just in the physical sense. Her mind was attuned to everything supernatural as she had attacked her studies at home with the same determination she attacked everything else, and she had a hunter's stubborn refusal to admit to defeat. When they finally did get back to the motel she would have a huge list of things for them to check out and an explanation for everything.

"Why does she get so upset?" Sam asked eventually

"She thinks we're going to get ourselves killed the second her back is turned."

Sam laughed.

"I did well enough without her while I was at college. She wasn't there then"

Dean stopped walking and looked at Sam.

"Wasn't she?"

_Kaida watched closely as Sam made his way across campus to his dorm room. She had followed him to the library and through his day's classes. Luckily a young 18yr old girl hanging around a college campus was not unusual, so she hadn't had any problems so far. Tonight however was going to be more difficult. She watched as Sam entered the dorm building and breathed a sigh of relief. Earlier in the day she had snuck into his room, to check that he had put some protection up. She had been glad to see that he hadn't instantly forgotten all of his instincts the moment he left. But then again it had only been a couple of weeks and his protection had not been as thorough as she had hoped._

_Quietly Kaida broke into the first lecture theatre on her list. Looking around she knew she wasn't going to get any sleep that night. Unfortunately for her Sam's lecturers didn't believe in seating plans. That meant she was going to have to put protection symbols under all of the desks. And not just in this room. She had a few more lecture theatres on her list. She hadn't really needed to follow Sam today. She had a list of his classes, she had compiled after hacking into the College system. It had been surprisingly easy. With a sigh she set to work._

_Back in his dorm room Sam was confused. He distinctly remembered laying protection when he first arrived, but he hadn't been this thorough before. He was sure of it. Was he drawing protection symbols in his sleep now? He wouldn't be that surprised if he was. He had been so jumpy recently. Maybe that was a side effect of living the life he had for so long. Would he ever be able to live a normal life? Would he ever be able to stay somewhere without checking the wardrobes before going to sleep? He was going mad._

_A couple of days later Sam was even more convinced he was going insane. He was in his third class of the day when he dropped his pen. With a sigh he bent down to retrieve it and stopped. Was that Latin written on the underside of the desk? And a pentagram? Quickly he sat up and tried to listen to the lecture. That night he checked everywhere for signs that there was a hunter in town, but he found nothing. Kaida by this time of course had left town._

_A few months later Kaida was trailing Sam through the streets. What was he thinking going out so late? It was dark and there had been reports of students going missing late at night. How could Sam be so stupid? Kaida had been in town for a couple of days. The moment they had heard about the disappearances John had sent her to check on Sam. Now he was walking around like prey for this damn creature. Yes she had discovered what it was, and the moment Sam was out of danger she was going to kill it. _

_Kaida cursed as Sam turned down an alleyway. Yes it was the quickest way to get to the pub Sam was going to meet his friends. But still it was stupid, Really stupid. Just as Sam left the alleyway at the other end Kaida stopped. She had heard something. Well this was as good a time as any. She turned around slowly. Her fingers twitched slightly. It was a good job she had been here. The creature was a Manticore. She had no idea how it had found itself here, but it was surviving well enough. There were more than enough people here for it to eat. The creature was watching her closely. She wouldn't make much of a meal. The thing wouldn't take much to kill but it was fast. It had a lion's body and a human head and its mouth was filled with three rows of deadly teeth. That wasn't what worried her however. What worried her was the things tail. The tail had hundreds of dart like spines. Spines that would inject a deadly poison into her and kill her instantly. She watched the creature closely. She had to time this just right. The creature flicked its tail. Now. She froze the air around the spines as they flew towards her. Without waiting to see if it had worked she threw the strongest flames she could at the creature and she didn't stop until its death throws stopped. With a sigh of relief Kaida pulled a packet of salt from her pocket. She salted the corpse and burned it into until it was nothing but a scorched mark on the ground. Then she walked over to the darts. She carefully picked them up, wrapped them in a thick cloth and put them in a satchel at her hip. They might come in useful later._

_Meanwhile Sam had heard a strange strangled scream as he neared his destination. Turning around he ran towards the noise. By the time he got there however there was nothing but a charred patch of ground and a pile of Ash. Kaida watched him walk back towards the pub from the rooftops. That had been close._

_Sam was walking back from the cinema one night when he heard a noise. He stopped. Was that singing? He was on the coast for the weekend. One of his friends had had the idea. And so a whole load of them had booked into some hotel by the beach. He had been walking back that way when he had heard the strange voice._

_Luckily Kaida had also heard the voice as she trailed Sam through the streets. Nixes. That's what that sound was. The thing had been moving across the coastline. A couple of deaths in each area and then it moved again. The thing had been driving John nuts for weeks. And now it had turned up here while Kaida was on one of her regular visits to check up on Sam. She could have laughed, if she didn't have work to do. How was she going to distract Sam long enough to get rid of the thing. Sam was getting closer and closer to the water as he followed the voice. First thing first however. Kaida rifled in her back until she found a golden knife. It had cost quite a bit of money but John had insisted on buying three when he first began looking for the Nixes. Gold was the only thing that could kill the creatures apart from speaking the beings true name. Which she really didn't have time for._

_Kaida looked around desperately. She had to find something to distract Sam and get him away from the creature. There was a small abandoned shop nearby. She couldn't tell what it sold but it looked like it had been empty for a while. Well, that would have to do. Kaida threw a fire ball towards the shop and sprinted towards the water while Sam was looking the other way. Standing on the water's edge was a woman dressed in water logged clothing. She didn't want to get too close, and she didn't have much time, so Kaida threw the knife at the woman. She had always had a good aim, so the small knife hit the woman straight in the heart. Kaida then ran back to the street and, from a distance she quenched the flames._

_Sam was drunk. Which in itself wasn't that surprising, it was his 21__st__ birthday after all. What was surprising however was that he was lost. He had been dragged out by his friends and now he had no idea where he was. His friends were just as badly affected it seemed as none of them could remember which way to go._

_Kaida watched as Sam and his friends stumbled along the badly lit streets. She could see this wasn't going to end well. Right now a kitten could attack Sam and get the better of him. Silently she took out her phone and recorded a couple of seconds of Sam stumbling about and sent it to Dean's mobile. Yes she was here to make sure Sam was OK. But that didn't mean she couldn't gather some blackmail material at the same time. As she put her phone away however she noticed a gang of dodgy looking men following the drunken students. Wonderful she thought._

_Kaida followed the men silently while she put her hand into the pouch at her hip. The darts had been in there for a long time. But they wouldn't have lost their potency. She also pulled out a small homemade blow pipe. Within seconds the gang were lying dead on the floor and Sam was stumbling on oblivious. Kaida grinned and followed them. Finally one of Sam's friends had a stroke of genius and hailed a cab. About time Kaida thought._

_When Sam woke up the next morning to find a birthday card slipped under his door, he wasn't very surprised. It wasn't signed but he had a good idea where it had come from. He had gotten one every year since he had left home. And although he should be angry at them, the last time they had stopped by he had made things very clear. He didn't want to see them again. But the card made him smile. It was nice to know that after everything they were still thinking about him._

"Did you think dad would have you completely unprotected?" Dean asked, watching Sam's face as he figured it all out.

"It was her. The whole time" He said finally.

Dean laughed.

"Not quite all the time. She did work cases in between. And she checked up on me. But she was in California quite a lot. And in between times she kept close tabs on you. She was always hacking into that college system and stuff."

Sam was in shock. He had thought for so long that he was all alone. His entire first year he had been paranoid, jumping at noises expecting monsters to jump out at him from around every corner. Now he found out that at least some of those same noises had been exactly that and he had only survived because Kaida had been protecting him, the way she always had done.


	8. The Wendigo and the Why

The Weapon

Chapter 8 – The Wendigo and The Why

Dean was leaning against the Impala talking to Hayley when Sam walked up. The two watched as Hayley and Ben climb into the ambulance.

"She's cute"

The voice had been Kaida's as she came up to stand with them.

"Kaida what are you doing here?"

"Yeah, you're supposed to be at the motel"

She rolled her eyes and leaned against the car

"I saw the ambulances. What was it?"

Both brothers winced. They had been dreading this conversation.

_Sam pulled Dean away from the others. He had some idea of what they were up against now, he just needed to check._

"_Let me see Dad's journal"_

_Dean handed the book over. Sam rifled through the pages until he found the page he was looking for._

"_Alright, check that out"_

_Dean looked at the page for a couple of seconds. It was ridiculous._

"_Oh come on, Wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or northern Michigan. I've never even heard of one this far west"_

"_Think about it Dean, the claws, the way it can mimic a human voice."_

_Alright it made sense. He couldn't think of anything else. Unfortunately that meant they were completely unprepared. He waved his pistol at Sam. _

"_Great. Well then this is useless"_

_The only thing that could kill a Wendigo was fire and Kaida was back in the motel. Sam was obviously thinking along the same lines._

"_Bet you wish Kaida was here now"_

_Dean rolled his eyes._

"_And what was she supposed to do? Hobble along behind us"_

_They laughed at the image that thought presented before growing serious again._

"_We gotta get these people to safety"_

_Sam walked back to the camp while Dean leant back against a tree thinking. Kaida was going to go nuts when she found out. He grinned._

Dean had been right.

"A Wendigo! It was a Wendigo!"

"Calm down Kaida!"

They were still standing by the car as Dean tried to calm her down. All they needed now was someone to hear Kaida shouting after finally convincing the authorities it had been a bear.

"Calm down? You could have died!"

"We're fine"

"I told you I should have gone with you!"

"You have a broken leg Kaida!"

Kaida leaned back against the car in a huff. That didn't matter. What if they had died while she was sitting safely in the motel? What was she supposed to do then? How would she find John and tell him his sons had been killed. And not just that, killed by a creature she could have defeated easily, even with a broken leg.

"We're fine Kaida. We managed." Sam said continuing the story.

"_All right listen up, time to go. Things have gotten more…complicated"_

_He had to convince these people to go home. It was far too dangerous now. _

"_What?" _

"_Kid don't worry, whatever's out there, I think I can handle it."_

_This man was so stupid. How could people be so ignorant about what was out there. This idiot was so convinced he was the top of the food chain. _

"_It's not me I'm worried about; if you shoot this thing you're just gonna make it mad. We have to leave now."_

_Why did nobody listen? Sam and Roy squared up to each other._

"_One you're talking nonsense, two you're in no position to give anybody orders."_

_Just then Dean appeared to pull them apart._

"_Relax" _

_Sam was still angry. He was trying to protect these people._

"_We never should have let you come out here in the first place, alright? I'm trying to protect you."_

"_You protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight."_

_That was a low shot, even if the man didn't realise it. Dean pulled his brother back again._

"_Yeah? It's a damn near perfect hunter. It's smarter than you, and it's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid sorry ass out of here." _

"_You know you're crazy right?" _

"_Yeah? You ever hunt a wen-"_

_Dean stood between the two men. This had gone far enough. This wasn't helping._

"_Chill out."_

"_Stop; stop it, everybody just stop. Look, Tommy might still be alive, and I'm not leaving here without him"_

_For a moment Dean was reminded of Kaida back in the motel. He tried not to grin imagining her sitting with her book, sulking forgotten trying to distract herself until they got back. It didn't last they had work to do. She was going to worry no matter what. All they could do was their job and get back safely._

"_It's getting late. This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night. We'll never beat it, not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves."_

Kaida was feeling slightly better. It had taken a lot of convincing, but they had finally gotten it through to her that they were fine, at least enough to get her in the car. They were driving away now. They had no idea where they were going, and that didn't matter yet.

"So you remembered the symbols?"

She wouldn't let it go. She really did not like being left behind.

"Yes"

It wasn't surprising that she was being so pernickety. After all, she had been the one to sit for hours learning those symbols by heart.

_Kaida was sitting at another kitchen table, in another rented room listening to John. Weapons weren't the only think she had to learn about in order to protect her family. She drew the symbols again and again memorising them._

"_Well done Kaida."_

"_Thank you sir"_

"_Now try these ones."_

_For hours she sat there drawing symbols while John watched, correcting her when she made a mistake. Soon she would be able to draw them in her sleep. She would be prepared for anything._

Of course they remembered to draw the symbols, Although they had copied them from John's notes.

_In the camp Dean drew symbols in the dirt with a stick._

"_One more time that's…?" _

"_Anasazi symbols. It's for protection. The Wendigo can't cross over them"_

_Dean finished the drawings and stood up. He could hear Roy laughing. _

"_Nobody likes a sceptic, Roy." He said but he really couldn't be bothered with that man. _

_He had more important things to worry about. The change in Sam for a start. He walked over to his brother and pulled him away from the camp._

"_You wanna tell me what's goin on in that freaky head of yours?"_

_He'd had enough. Alright Sam had been through an awful lot, but he couldn't go on like this. _

"_Dean…" Sam started but Dean interrupted him. _

_He could see where this was going. Sam was going to say he was fine and Dean had had enough of hearing that. Both Sam and Kaida had been saying that a lot the last couple of days. _

"_No you're not fine; you're like a powder keg man it's not like you. I'm supposed to be the belligerent one, remember?" _

_Sam laughed a little but not for long._

"_Dad's not here. I mean that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message, a sign, right?"_

_Yeah, he was right. Dad wasn't here. There were no signs that he had ever been here. _

"_Yeah you're probably right. To tell you the truth I don't think dad's ever been to Lost Creek."_

_He had to be honest. He knew Sam wouldn't like it, knew what he was going to say. But they had to get this out in the open. _

"_Then let's get these people back to town and let's hit the road, go find dad. I mean why are we still even here?"_

_Had it really been that long since Sam had done the job? Had he completely forgotten or had his grief blinded him. _

"_This is why"_

_Dean held up their dad's journal._

"_This book. This is dad's single most valuable possession everything he knows about every evil thing is in here. And he's passed it on to us, I think he wants us to pick up where he left off, you know saving people, hunting things. The family business."_

_He really did believe that. John had left them to fight the fight on their own. The possible reasons for doing so scared Dean to Hell, and he still wanted to find his father. But passing on the journal had been an order he didn't intend to ignore. He wanted them to hunt, and they would. _

"_That makes no sense. Why doesn't he just call us? Why doesn't he tell us what he wants; tell us where he is?"_

_That was what Dean had been trying not to think about. _

"_I dunno. But the way I see it, dad's giving us a job to do and I intend to do it"_

_Sam shook his head _

"_Dean, no. I gotta find dad. I gotta find Jessica's killer. It's the only thing I can think about." _

_Dean could understand where Sam was coming from, but he couldn't go on like this, he would burn out._

"_Ok, all right, Sam we'll find them I promise. Listen to me, you've gotta prepare yourself. I mean this search could take a while, and all that anger, you can't keep it burning over the long haul, it's gonna kill you. You gotta have patience, man." _

_The bottom line was that Sam wasn't coping. He was stuck in his anger._

"_How do you do it? How does dad do it?" _

_He couldn't speak for their father, but he knew why he did it._

"_Well for one… them."_

_He pointed out towards Hayley and her brother._

"_I mean I figure our family's so screwed to hell; maybe we can help some others. Makes things a little more bearable. I'll tell you what else helps. Killing as many sons of bitches as I possibly can."_

They found a place to stay for the night. They would figure out where to go next in the morning. Sam looked around the room. He couldn't sleep. There were two beds in the room and a sofa. He lay staring at the ceiling while Dean slept in the other bed and Kaida slept stretched out on the sofa. He had offered her the bed, but she refused saying she was the smallest. It was true; she was small enough to use the sofa as a bed. With a sigh Sam got up and walked outside.

"You're not supposed to be out here on your own you know."

Sam didn't have to turn around. Trust Kaida. She always knew. And she had always been a light sleeper. She stood silently next to him. She could wait forever if she had to.

"I'm fine Kaida"

She laughed. She always could out wait both of them.

"No you're not, otherwise you would be inside asleep."

That was true.

"Why do you hunt K?"

She shrugged

"Because I can."

Sam laughed.

"Well that's vague"

Kaida sighed. Well, the only thing she could do was tell the truth.

"Because you do, both of you. It's my job to look after you."

Sam nodded.

"Dean told me about your trips to Stanford."

She shrugged again.

"Just because you stop hunting doesn't mean, you're any safer. Normal people get killed all the time. How many innocent families have we saved? And how many more have we been too late to save? Did you really think that because you walked away from all of this you could escape the evil in the world? I couldn't just leave you on your own this whole time. I couldn't."

Really Sam knew he shouldn't have been so surprised. But he didn't know what to say. It didn't matter though, Kaida wasn't finished.

"You have to realise Sam, I can't do anything else. Before I started hunting I didn't have anything else. I'm not cut out for normality."

They stood silently again for a while, before Kaida turned to go back inside.

"Get some sleep Sam. You need it."

Sam nodded. He had a lot to think about.


	9. Dates and Childish Arguing

The Weapon

Chapter 9

Kaida was finishing her breakfast while Dean circled articles in the newspaper. He was looking for something to occupy their time until they found clues on John's where-abouts. Kaida was finishing her coffee as the blond waitress approached.

"Can I get you anything else?"

Dean grinned, he could think of plenty she could give him. Unfortunately before he could say anything of the sort Sam came in and interrupted them.

"Just the check please"

Dean groaned and Kaida sniggered into her cup. The boys had very different approaches when it came to women.

"You know Sam. We are allowed to have fun once in a while. That's fun."

Sam didn't say anything, he just looked at Dean. So the eldest turned to Kaida.

"What do you think K?"

She looked up from her coffee and rolled her eyes. The waitress was hovering about watching Dean closely.

"You know I'm not overly fond of Blondes"

Dean laughed. He never could pass up an opportunity to tease her.

"You dated a blonde once. Remember..."

Kaida never liked talking about her personal life. She didn't date often and when she did Dean would torment her endlessly. Luckily there was one exception to that rule, but Kaida didn't want to think about her. Sam decided to stop the conversation before it got too far.

"Guys, could we maybe get back to work at some point."

A look of relief spread across Kaida's face. Silently Sam thanked whatever gods were listening that their baby sister preferred women. It had worried him at first, when he had seen the first hints, they didn't need anything to make their lives anymore difficult and Kaida had been bullied enough as it was at school. But It meant that they could spend their time teasing her, rather than beating up whoever she brought home. He wasn't sure how he, or Dean for that matter, would have reacted to Kaida bringing home men. At least with women they were less inclined to interview them while sharpening knives or cleaning guns.

Reluctantly Dean started to explain what he had found to the younger man. As they talked Kaida watched Dean's eyes follow the waitress around the room. He had always been the more confident of the three, especially with women, but sometimes he had a one track mind. She had been 13 the first time she had caught him sneaking out to see a girl.

_Kaida heard the back door open and jumped out of bed with knife in hand. A quick glance around the room told her that Sam was sleeping peacefully and that Dean was missing. Missing? How could she have let that happen? It probably didn't mean anything but, it never did any good to assume. She heard the fridge door open. Could that be Dean? It had definitely been the back door she had heard, so maybe he had gone out and was just coming back. How had she been so stupid not to notice him leave? John was away on a hunt and was expected back soon. Silently she crept towards the kitchen. She hoped to find Dean and not John sitting at the kitchen table, for Dean's sake rather than hers. If John came home to find his eldest missing there would be Hell to pay._

_Peering around the doorframe Kaida saw Dean sitting at the table with a soda. She breathed a sigh of relief and sat across from him putting her knife down on the table._

"_What were you doing out Dean?"_

_Dean looked up at her and smirked. Kaida rolled her eyes, already she knew what that look meant. She wasn't exactly surprised. Dean was seventeen after-all._

"_Don't tell Dad OK."_

_Kaida laughed at that. She stopped abruptly however when she heard another voice from the now open door._

"_Don't tell dad what?"_

_Both teenagers stiffened. John was home. He sounded amused for the moment, but it probably wouldn't last. Dean started to answer but Kaida stood up interrupting him._

"_Dean caught me sneaking out to go to the vending machine Sir."_

_John looked at her for a long time. He obviously didn't believe her, but wasn't sure whether it was worth the point. He could see Kaida's knife on the table, the knife she kept under her pillow. It was obvious that Dean had been the one sneaking out. On the other hand, he had just come home from a hunt and was exhausted. Finally he made a decision._

"_Well, extra laps tomorrow Kaida."_

_Kaida nodded, trying to look guilty and doing a pretty good job of it._

"_Yes Sir"_

_With that he left the room, leaving a grinning Kaida and a thoroughly shocked Dean, who finally regained his voice. _

"_Why did you do that?"_

_He couldn't quite believe that she had just taken the blame. John would have gone completely nuts if he heard Dean had left while the other two had been asleep. Kaida had been a part of the family for nearly a year and had decided to take the blame. Kaida finished Dean's soda before answering._

"_What are sisters for? Besides now you owe me one."_

Kaida was brought out of her memories suddenly. She had been a Winchester for ten years now, and one side effect of that was being able to sense when an argument was about to errupt.

"Something you want to say to me?"

Dean had thrown the newspaper down on the counter and was glaring at his brother.

"The trail for dad, it's getting colder everyday!"

Kaida could feel the anger radiating from Sam as he spoke. This was not going to go well. she had to stop them before they actually starting hitting each other. It had happened enough in the past. Like their father they could both be incredibly stubborn, especially when they believed that they were right.

"Guys?"

They ignored her and continued. She hated it when they did that.

"Exactly! and what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Something, anything?"

She tried again.

"Guys?"

Nope didn't work, still no reaction. She was getting angry now but the waitress was still hovering about.

"You know what, I'm sick of this attitude. You think WE don't want to find dad as much as you do?"

Kaida rolled her eyes again. Great Dean, bring me into it. That wasn't going to help, make Sam think they were ganging up on him.

"Yeah, I know you do. It's just..."

Finally Kaida lost her control when she noticed that the waitress had left the room. She reached out and rapidly froze and then defrosted the counter top on which both had their hands. It wasn't enough to hurt them, but it got their attention.

"Guys!"

They both looked up and yelled together.

"What!"

She pulled them over to the corner away from the kitchen entrance.

"Could we possibly stop the arguing for a second please!"

She was starting to get a headache. They sat down side by side grumbling.

"I think you gave me frost bite" Dean complained looking at his finger tips.

"I did not. You're being paranoid. Now can we talk about this in a calm and collected fashion please?"

Sam huffed, clearly not convinced until Kaida raised a hand, threateningly. They were like children when they argued.

"Fine!"

Kaida sat down and Dean took a deep breath.

"We will find dad"

Kaida couldn't help herself, she scoffed. Despite the fact that she wanted to keep the peace, she doubted John would be that easy to track down and had far too little patience now to keep her opinions to herself. Especially now that a fist fight had been avoided. Dean's head hit the table.

"What is it Kaida?"

His voice was slightly muffled as he didn't lift his head from the tabletop.

"If John doesn't want to be found. There is no way that we will find him"

OK, it wasn't exactly what they wanted to hear but she couldn't exactly lie. Not to them. Dean sat back up.

"We WILL find dad! But until then we're going to kill everything bad between here and there ok?"

Sam nodded but Kaida didn't move.

"Kaida?"

She threw her hands up in resignation.

"OK. Can we get going now?"

They all stood up, but Kaida noticed Dean watching the waitress again. Really sometimes he had a one track mind. She hung back and agreed to meet them at the car. When she got to the car she handed a Dean a piece of paper.

"You owe me one"

She started to climb into the back seat and Sam scolded her.

"Don't encourage him!"

But they were both smiling, that's all she really wanted in life.


	10. Protecting them from anyone

The Weapon

Chapter 10

Kaida looked down at the newspaper in her lap again before gazing out onto the water. She was looking out on the lake in which a young woman had vanished; presumably she had drowned although her body had not yet been found. She was on her own. Sam and Dean were off pretending to be police officers or government agents of some sort. Taking a breath she stood up. She hobbled over to the water's edge and looked down. It was her job to look around; to see if she could find evidence of Nessie or whatever.

She had learned long ago that she didn't make a very convincing authority figure. She was far too small, too delicate looking. People tended to look harder at any fake ID she carried, looking at her sceptically. They didn't need that extra stress when they were working. Luckily she was very good at research and she was very observant. She should be used to this by now, leaving the others to do the interviews, but that didn't mean she liked it. Anything could happen. She didn't like being left behind. Any time she was without her brothers she wondered who was protecting them. It was her job. Yes they were fully capable of protecting each other, but they shouldn't have to.

Well she had better get moving. She wanted to have a closer look further along the bank. It would take her a while with her plaster cast on, so she really should move. She took her phone out of her pocket and looked at it one last time. No missed calls and no texts.

Dean was sitting fingering the number in his pocket while they waiedt to speak to the Sherriff. Earlier that morning Kaida had gotten him the waitress's number. He knew he wouldn't use it. They were miles away now and on a case, but he appreciated the gesture. She had done it to stop him sulking and to keep the peace between himself and Sam. Usually that was his job, but it was comforting to know that she would be there no matter what. She always knew how to cheer him up, to cheer any of them up. For some reason his thoughts strayed to the first of many times Kaida had saved him from punishment.

_The Winchesters were out in the woods training. They needed to keep in shape. Finally they stopped exhausted but Kaida ran on. The night before she had earned extra laps that should really have been Dean's._

"_Right, you two back to the car and wait for us"_

_John sent the boys away, but he watched Dean's face closely as Kaida ran off through the trees. He made it very clear that he knew Kaida had been lying to him. He knew it was Dean that had snuck out._

"_What was that all about?" Sam asked as they started towards the car. _

_Dean couldn't believe their father was actually going through with the punishment. He supposed she was being punished for the lie rather than the invented offence of sneaking out to the vending machine._

"_Kaida caught me coming home from a date last night" he explained._

_Sam looked confused making Dean laugh before he continued._

"_She heard me come in and asked me about it. Dad overheard part of our conversation, but Kaida told him I had caught HER sneaking out to get sweets."_

_Sam stopped walking and looked back._

"_Why did she do that?"he asked_

_Dean shrugged._

"_She said it was what sisters were for and that now I owed her one"_

_Sam started to laugh._

"_What?"_

_Sam shook his head._

"_You're in for it now. I wouldn't want to owe Kaida a favour. You never know what it might be."_

_Dean stopped walking and groaned._

As it turned out Kaida had ended up being driven around by Dean for about a month after that, which John had found highly amusing.

"...Federal Wildlife Service"

Sam elbowed Dean in the ribs as he stood up. Well, time to get back to work.

Back on the banks of the lake Kaida's thoughts had been along a similar vein. Although she had told herself not to, she had spent the entire time worrying. A long time ago she had promised to protect the Winchester brothers no matter what, or from whom. Their recent run in with the Wendigo had reminded her how difficult that was for her to do when they went off on their own. If she had her way she would have them locked up somewhere safe while she fought their cases for them. No matter what happened though protecting them wasn't something she would ever stop.

_Again Kaida woke to the sound of movement in the kitchen. She glanced around and did a quick body count. Sam, asleep. Dean, Asleep. She breathed easier. Silently she crept towards the doorframe and peered around it. John was sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hands._

"_Something wrong sir?"_

_Kaida stepped out towards the table._

"_Oh, Kaida. What are you doing up?"_

_John leant back into his chair as she sat across from him. She shrugged._

"_I don't sleep much sir"_

_He nodded. She slept lightly, waking from the slightest sound. She had been with them less than a year and already she was becoming a near perfect soldier._

"_What was all that about last night Kaida?" John asked. _

_Kaida dropped her head slightly hiding behind her hair._

"_What was what about sir?"_

_She could sound incredibly innocent when she wanted to, but John wasn't fooled. He scoffed._

"_All that about sneaking out to the vending machine, that was crap."_

_She shrugged. She may like sweets, but she wouldn't leave Sam and Dean alone for any amount of sugar. Unless of course Sam had one of his nightmares. Then all off her energy went into cheering him up. They both knew what the previous night had been about._

"_Just doing my job sir."_

_John sighed._

"_When I asked you to protect them, I didn't mean from me."_

_She shrugged again._

"_It's still my job."_

_John nodded and went to the fridge. He pulled out two cans, one beer and one soda. He sat the drinks can in front of her and then sat down again._

"_I guess I can live with that."_

Kaida stood up from examining the water's edge. She couldn't find anything to support the lake monster theory. She wasn't sure whether that was a good thing, but she had to go where the evidence took her. Her phone rang. Before answering it she glanced at the call ID. Dean.

"Hey K, you ready for us to come get you"

She wanted to be back with them, but there were some likely spots further round that she wanted to look at. She had to be sure of what they were dealing with, and so far she wasn't.

"Not yet, give me another half an hour or something."

"Alright."

Dean paused for a second before he continued.

"Hey Kaida?"

"What?"

"Thanks"

"What for?"

She could practically hear him shrug through the phone.

"Everything I guess"

Kaida laughed putting her phone away.


	11. Bullying

The Weapon

Chapter 11

Kaida leant against the car watching Dean walk towards a small boy drawing and playing with some toy soldiers. Apparently this kid was the key to what was going on here. Dean was going to try and talk to him while Sam talked to his mother. She watched as Dean leant down next to the boy. If anyone could talk to him, Dean could. Dean had this way about him with kids. He fixed things, at least in a child's eyes. It was something she had experienced before. Somehow he had always managed to get a story out of her before anyone else did, no matter how much she wanted to keep it hidden.

_Kaida rushed through the front door and into the bathroom slamming the door behind her. It wasn't a very clever thing to do but she had had a terrible day. She could hear John yelling from the living room._

"_Don't slam the door Kaida"_

_She ran some water into the sink and splashed it onto her face before she looked up at her reflection. She was fourteen and hadn't changed much physically in the last two years. She was a hunter now, but she didn't look it. Even with all the martial arts she was learning she was still very small, the perfect target for bullies. That's how she had gotten the black eye she had now. She had run into the bathroom so that the others wouldn't see. Not that it had done any good. She could already hear them questioning Sam._

_She had been sitting minding her own business while Sam played soccer after school. She wasn't involved in any after school clubs; she was content just sitting reading while Sam played. She wasn't going to leave him on his own, especially not in some nowhere town where they didn't know anyone. Eventually the practice finished and Sam went off to the changing rooms. Quietly she put the book into her backpack as some girls from her and Sam's class came up behind her. She heard them of course but she kept still. She was supposed to be a normal girl._

"_Where's your 'Brother' Kaida?" One of them asked, in that annoying tone of voice they used when they had some ammunition to use against you. _

_Apparently they had figured out that she wasn't really a Winchester. That in itself wasn't surprising. It wasn't difficult. She and Sam looked so different. He had started to grow into his height now and was twice her size. Then there was the fact that they were in the same class and Sam's birthday was about four months before hers. Really she was surprised that they hadn't figured it out before now, but people could be pretty thick sometimes._

_Kaida kept her head down and tried to ignore them, but they wouldn't let her get away with that._

"_Hey, we're talking to you freak."_

_One of the girls pulled Kaida to stand before pushing her to the ground. She reminded herself over and over inside her head, that she was supposed to act like a normal girl who couldn't defend herself. That was made all the more difficult when they all set upon her._

"_Kaida! What's going on? Are you alright?"_

_Back at school that had been the girls queue to scatter, as Sam immerged from the changing rooms. Now it was Dean banging on the bathroom door._

"_Kaida?"_

_She sighed._

"_I'm fine Dean"_

_She washed her face again._

"_That's Bullshit Kaida, let me in."_

_She pulled the plug and looked at the mirror again._

"_I'm fine"_

_She closed her eyes and started to count under her breath. It took less than ten seconds before she heard the sounds of Dean picking the lock on the bathroom door. Another ten and the door swung open. She jumped up, more out of principle than anything else._

"_Hey! I could be naked in here!"_

_Two years ago there was no way she would have yelled at him, but two years was a long time. Family could yell at family._

"_Like I give a shit K! Sam told me what happened."_

_She could see Sam standing behind him in the doorway looking down at his feet._

"_I'm Sorry Kaida, I had to"_

"_It's alright Sam"_

_Dean ushered Sam out of the room and shuts the door behind him. He then turned to Kaida and pushed her to sit down on the edge of the bathtub. Without saying anything he reached for the first aid kit and began to tend to her face. She had a couple of cuts but nothing serious._

"_Now are you going to tell me what happened?"_

_Taking a deep breath she explained it all. She hadn't told Sam anything after he had found her. She had just walked on refusing to answer his questions and he had left it, knowing that Dean would get the whole story out of her. Besides he had seen enough to draw his own conclusions._

"_Why didn't you fight back? You're more than capable" Dean asked eventually._

"_And how am I supposed to explain some charred and half frozen students to the principle?" She asked, knowing fine well that's not what he had meant. _

_He didn't say anything, just looked at her, eyebrow raised. She huffed._

"_I've got to keep a low profile remember. Can't draw attention."_

_Kaida was the only one who took that rule seriously. Sam hardly ever got into fights despite his temper, due to his size even at fourteen. Only a fool would start a fight with him. And Dean had always jumped right in, not caring about keeping a low profile, especially if someone said anything about his family. It was the only rule of John's that he didn't care about breaking. _

_But it was different for her. Boys got into fights all the time, but girls didn't. Especially not girls Kaida's size. People would notice if she fought back, mainly because despite their expectations, she would win. Dean also doubted that Kaida would be able to fight fair. She wouldn't mean to, but when you throw fire balls on instinct, it's very difficult to stop the impulse from taking over._

Despite how far away she was Kaida could hear everything Dean was saying. She knew a normal person wouldn't, but she has never thought that much about it. Her senses were stronger than other peoples. Like her abilities it was something she had been born with, and something she couldn't understand. She supposed it was why she woke up so easily, why she was such a good hunter. What she overheard this time made her smile.

"That's my dad, that's my mum, that's my geek brother. That there's my foster sister and that's me. All right so I'm a sucky artist. I'll see you around Lucas"


	12. Someone to talk to

The Weapon

Chapter 12

They were back to see Andrea and her son Lucas. They had confirmed now that it wasn't a Lake monster and for some reason Dean wanted Kaida to come with, while they spoke to Lucas. Kaida didn't know why, but really she didn't care. She may not be as mobile as she usually was, but that didn't mean they could leave her behind all the time. Even if they were doing interviews.

"If that's what you really believe then we'll go. But if you think there's even a possibility that something else could be going on here, please let me talk to your son. As they all walked up the stairs, Kaida stayed down in the kitchen. She couldn't deal with steps at the moment, besides she had seen something on the kitchen counter that had caught her eye. It is the picture Dean had drawn earlier in the day. She stared at it for a long time. There were five people in the picture, not four. It was obvious who the figures were and it made her smile. After all these years, she still found it odd to see herself pictured alongside not only John and the boys, but Mary as well.

_It was the day after the school incident and Kaida sat on the floor in front of the sofa happily munching popcorn. The boys had given her a bowl to herself, which she was quickly devouring as she leant against their legs as they sat on the small piece of furniture.. John was out for the day. He had managed to get a job for a couple of weeks while he worked a case in the area. So the three siblings were spending the day relaxing in front of the TV. Somehow Dean had managed to get a hold of some old Horror videos, which they were enjoying._

_Suddenly a hand came from somewhere above Kaida on the sofa and stole a fist-full of her popcorn._

"_Hey!"_

_Kaida notices the empty bowl sitting next to her and realised they have finished their bowl too quickly. Together they all laughed and continued watching the films. When her bowl was finished, Kaida made her way through to the kitchen to make some more. Unfortunately she could see her school books sitting on the table where she had left them the night before. Her bag was still muddy._

"_You're still thinking about it aren't you"_

_Dean was standing in the doorway watching her. She nodded._

"_It's a lie Kaida, no matter what they say, you're our sister. And no amount of Biology is gonna change that."_

_She laughed._

"_Is that you're reaction to everything Dean. Dean Winchester believes it, so it's true."_

"_Damn straight!"_

_To prove his point Dean reached for his wallet and opened it up. Kaida looked at it in astonishment. There it was, the proof that she really was a Winchester. Two pictures were clearly visible in the compartment. One was a very old photograph of Mary and John with their sons and the other was of the three of them; Sam, Dean and her. Dean's old family, and his new family- Side by side._

There was another picture sitting next to one that Dean had drawn. This pictures made Kaida hold her breath. She had thought the child hadn't seen her that day. She usually blended in so well. OK she had a cast on, but why would he have drawn this. The picture was of a woman with long black hair. One side of the picture was shaded white with blue snowflakes and the other orange with red flames.

"Lucas drew that when we got back from the park"

Andrea had come down the stairs and noticed Kaida looking at the sketch. It seemed Dean had been right, Lucas was clearly channelling something. Kaida put the picture down on the counter and turned to leave but Dean stopped her. He had that serious look on his face that meant Kaida wasn't going to like what he was about to say. "Kaida will stay here with you. To make sure nothing happens."

Reluctantly Andrea agreed to let Kaida help her out while the Winchesters did some investigating. Dean had only been able to convince her by suggesting that Kaida was not only a lot younger than her actual twenty-two years, but also that he was worried about leaving his 'kid' sister alone in a strange town with her leg in a cast. Neither of those statements had sat very well with said 'kid' sister.

_Kaida pulled Dean out of earshot before voicing her opinion. "What the hell Dean! I'm not some sort of invalid" she hissed. He couldn't help it, Dean laughed at the expression on her face. "Of course not K, but I'd feel a lot better if you stayed here." That earned him a glare. God she was such a child sometimes. "I'm not staying behind again" If she didn't have that cast on she would have stamped her feet._

_Dean supposed it was partly his fault, His and dads. At the age of five Kaida had been forced to grow up too fast, the way he had after the fire. But at twelve her life had changed. She had been brought back into a family and given a childhood. Suddenly she had two older brothers who cared for her, and a father who wasn't trying to kill her. Yes she had responsibilities. She became their bodyguard, but they hadn't treated her that way. Personally Dean loved having her around. For Kaida this life had been a step up. Instead of destroying her childhood it had given her an opportunity to experience one. As a result she remained a child in a lot of ways. Around her brothers she reverted to twelve years old again. Despite how stressful her stubborn ways could be, it always made Dean smile._

"_Kaida, listen to me. I need you to stay here. These people could be next. I need you here to make sure nothing happens. Alright?" Reluctantly she agreed, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She was being left behind again. Recently she had felt so useless. Her only job in life was to protect her brothers, not babysitting random strangers._

It hadn't actually been too bad so far. She had helped Andrea at the grocery store and looked after Lucas. The poor kid was traumatised. She wanted to help as best she could, but she also wanted to appear as normal as possible. She didn't want to scare these people. So she tried to act like the typical little sister, complaining about being left behind. Alright the last point wasn't that difficult. Recently she had felt increasingly useless, Like she was the nuisance kid sister rather than a part of the team. Part of that was due to the splint on her leg, but mostly it was because of Jessica. She couldn't really talk about that so she concentrated on the splint. Personally she thought it was time that it came off, but Dean disagreed. He was determined to make her keep it on as long as possible. He claimed it was so that he could continue teasing her, calling her hop-along, but she knew the truth. The fire it seemed had given him quite a scare. Unconsciously Kaida touched the burn that still marked her face. It had faded some now, but she would carry it forever. To be honest, the fire had scared her too. It was the only reason she let Dean be so paranoid about her injuries.

"Where did you get that?" Andrea asked as she sat a mug of hot chocolate in front of Kaida. "It's nothing" she replied, letting her hair fall over of her face. The woman nodded. "It's alright, I probably wouldn't tell me either" Kaida took a deep breath. She knew she shouldn't say anything, but she didn't have anyone to talk to. Not about the fire. She couldn't talk to the boys about it. They were too close. There was one other person, at least there had been once. But she had a whole other life now.

_Kaida sat on the porch watching Sam and Dean drive away. Sam was leaving for college and if he got his own way, he wouldn't be coming back. There was only one thing she could do now. Slowly Kaida reached into her pocket and took out her phone._

"_Hello"_

"_Faye?"_

"_Hi Kaida, are you alright? You sound terrible"_

"_Not really"_

_There was a moment of silence before the voice on the other end spoke._

"_Sam's gone, hasn't he?"_

"_Yes"_

"_I'll be there in about ten minutes"_

_About eight minutes later Kaida heard John answer the door while she sat up in her room. _

"_Hello Faye, she's upstairs"_

"_Thank you sir"_

_Kaida sat watching the door listening to the familiar footsteps until..._

"_Hey Sparky"_

_Faye was a little taller and broader than Kaida, which wasn't difficult, but still shorter than average. Her hair wasn't as long, falling in chestnut curls to her shoulders and her hazel eyes always sparkled. Despite her depression, Kaida smiled. "Hey babe". Faye pulled her up into a hug before leaning in for a kiss._

_They sat side by side. The few inches the brunette had over the other girl vanished when they sat like this. "Do you want to talk about it?" Kaida shook her head. "Not yet" so they just sat in silence until she was ready to vocalise what she felt._

Kaida shook herself mentally. This was no time to be thinking about Faye. "there was a fire" she said eventually. "What happened?" Kaida didn't know what to say. How could she get across what she felt without betraying the family secret and her own. "There was... Someone... Someone got hurt, they died... because I couldn't get her out... And now..." Andrea finished for her. "And now you feel useless, like you can't do anything right." Kaida just nodded as the woman continued. "I know what that feels like. All I can tell you is that it wasn't your fault and you can't go on forever feeling guilty about what happened."

Later in the day Kaida tagged along while Andrea went to see her father. The talk earlier had helped a little but really she needed to talk to someone she could tell everything. She stopped briefly before following Andrea inside. She took out her phone and scrolled through the names _'Faye Davies' _No she couldn't do it.

"_He'll come back"_

_Kaida shook her head_

"_It's not the kind of life you come back to once you've found a way out."_

_Faye had one of Kaida's hands in her lap and was playing with her fingers._

"_Do you want a way out" she asked._

_Kaida shook her head again._

"_Why would I? I love my life"_

"_Don't you ever wish you could be normal"_

_Kaida shrugged._

"_Not really. I can do a lot more good the way I am, than I ever could if I was like everybody else"_

_Faye nodded and let her continue._

"_That doesn't mean I can't see the appeal. I can understand why he left. And why you'll go when your parents get the money together."_

_Faye dropped Kaida's hand._

"_I don't want to go... I"_

_Kaida stopped her._

"_I know but you will. You should. It's what you always wanted to do. And I won't stop you"_

No, She really couldn't. Kaida put the phone away and walked into the station. When she finally got inside she found the Winchesters on the way out. "Come on Kaida we're leaving"


	13. Ice patterns

The Weapon

Chapter 13

Sam watched Kaida for a couple of seconds while Andrea tried to process what had happened. He had been the one to pull her free while Dean looked after Lucas and Kaida tried to stop the flow of water. Now he and Andrea were sitting at the table while Kaida kept Lucas entertained. Dean had vanished somewhere. He hadn't said anything which usually meant he was on to something. Sam hoped so. It should be over by now. Dean had been the one to bring them back in the nick of time and Sam didn't know why he was so surprised. He should be used to Dean's instincts by now. He was usually right.

_Dean was behind the wheel while Sam at in the front and Kaida stretched out across the back seat. They hadn't been here long, but already John had wanted them out of the way. So the three of them had been sent into town. Their cabin was on the outskirts, just far enough from the civilians but close enough for Sam and Kaida to go to the local school. They were sixteen now. Personally Sam didn't know why John had insisted on them going out while he met with a hunter friend of his, but who was he to argue with a rare trip to the cinema._

_Now they were on the way back. They had gone to see the film and then headed to a local bar to do a bit of hustling and waste some time until it closed. Now there was nothing more they could do to delay their return home. Reluctantly Dean pulled up beside another car in front of the house. Apparently the other hunter was still there._

_Dean just sat there staring at the unfamiliar truck for a long time. "What's wrong?" Sam asked finally bored of sitting staring into space. "Aren't we going in?" Dean tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. I don't think we should. Sam laughed. "Why not? They probably aren't even talking about business anymore. They're probably drinking. Why would dad want us to stay away? You know how he hates us staying out late." Dean caught Kaida's eye in the mirror as she shifted slightly in her seat. Sam turned around to look at her as she shrugged. There was one reason John would want them to stay away. Usually with other hunters he liked to play the proud father, show off his warrior sons who had grown up to be hunters. But some didn't take to well to Kaida. Not everyone could appreciate John's secret weapon. Most were alright, at least the ones John worked with with any regularity, but some..._

_On the other hand they really did need to go inside. It was a school night. Sam could see the moment Dean gave in to the realisation. "Alright but Kaida stays behind me." Both brothers looked to the back seat expecting a protest but instead Kaida just shrugged and opened the door. _

_The three of them walked casually into the kitchen. Sam first going straight for the fridge, then Dean and finally Kaida. Kaida stopped suddenly however when she passed the door frame. She just stood there staring open mouthed at the man sitting next to john at the table. "K are you alright?" Sam asked turning from the fridge to see her shocked face. The hunter stood up and watching him Dean moved to stand in front of their sister._

"_Well well Kaida. Fancy seeing you here. How long has it been, 11? 12 years?" Kaida backed into the door with terrified eyes. "No" she whispered and Dean moved towards the stranger squaring up to him. "Get out" he said looking him straight in the eye, but he laughed. "You should teach your boys some manners john." He turned round to face the elder Winchester but the smile slid off of his face. As his father raised the shotgun in his hands Sam did likewise. He didn't know how he had come to hold the weapon, but that didn't matter. He knew who this man was. Kaida's face was enough to tell him and he wasn't going to let anyone hurt his little sister. None of them would._

"_He said get out." John replied motioning to the door with the barrel of the gun. The man threw up his hands in resignation. "Alright, Alright I'm going. But I'm surprised at you John. You're harbouring a monster." John shook his head. "No I'm not. I'm looking after my family". The man picked up his bag and moved towards the door. As he passed Dean moved with him keeping himself between Kaida and her father. Once the hunter reached the car he turned back one last time. "I'll be back Kaida. They can't protect you forever" With that he got into the truck and drove away. Kaida fell down onto the floor and cried._

"No it doesn't make any sense. I'm going crazy" Sam snapped out of his thoughts. He hadn't thought about that day in such a long time. He had pushed a lot of his memories away when he went away to college. He didn't know why they were coming back now but he couldn't dwell on that, he had a job to do. "No you're not" Andrea shook her head. "But it's impossible" Sam looked over at Kaida again. She was creating ice patterns on the window to distract Lucas. "Is it?" he pointed over to them. They hadn't explained Kaida to her. How could they when they didn't know exactly why she was the way she was. They had just let Andrea make her own conclusions from what she had seen.

_Once the door gave way Sam ran to the side of the bathtub. He could see Andrea thrashing trying to get a grip and pull herself out of the water. From the corner of his eye he could see Kaida run into the room her eyes scanning trying to find a way to stop the water. Instinctively Sam knew that Dean was looking after Lucas so he concentrated on Andrea._

_Kaida put her hand on the flowing tap and blocked it with ice. It wouldn't hold for long but it would hold long enough. Then as Sam pulled the woman as hard as he could, Kaida froze the water around her. It took a lot of concentration but she managed to freeze the water without harming her. Then she smashed it giving Sam just enough of a gap to free Andrea. As the woman was pulled away from the room Kaida melted the ice as gently as she could. Burst pipes would not be a good idea at the moment._

"This can't be happening, none of this can" There was panic in Andrea's voice. Sam couldn't remember if he had ever thought like that. He must have at some point, when he first realised exactly what his father did. Maybe that was one of the advantages of being exposed to this life at such a young age. Nothing was impossible to a child. Lucas was prime example of that. He was just sitting there watching the icicles form with a look of wonder on his face. He wasn't afraid of her. Any adult would be. And yet Sam knew there must have been something in him that had thought the same as Andrea. Why else had he been so determined to leave his crazy life behind? He still was in some ways. When he finally caught the creature that had killed Jessica and his mother he was going to destroy it and then he was going to go straight back to school. He wanted that more at times like this when he saw how insane his life was through the eyes of others. "Believe me, I know what you feel. Tell me what happened, everything."

When they had burst into the bathroom earlier they had only seen the aftermath. Maybe Andrea could tell them something they didn't know. Maybe she could help to explain why she had been attacked when they thought it was over. "I heard... I thought I heard... there was a voice" Sam glanced at Kaida and Lucas again to see if they were within earshot. "What did it say?" Kaida pulled Lucas to a further window. Obviously she could hear them. "It said... It said 'Come play with me'. What's happening?" Sam sighed. What was he supposed to say? "It's a spirit we think. Don't worry; we won't let it get you, either of you. It's what we do"

Andrea turned to look at Kaida and Lucas. "Has she always been able to do that?" Sam grinned as he realised that Kaida was now creating icicles in thin air, freezing the moisture in the air, then rapidly melting it and reforming it again into different shapes. "As long as I've known her." Lucas was entranced and Sam couldn't blame him. He had been in his position in the past. Whenever John was away for longer than he should be, Kaida would do anything she could to distract him from that fact. Sam was brought out of his thoughts as Dean reappeared slamming an old photo album onto the table. Well, Sam thought, time to get back to work.


	14. Shatter

The Weapon

Chapter 14

Kaida stood at the kitchen window looking out at the boys. They were out by the lake digging. Briefly she wondered how much of their lives they spent digging. Either physically or metaphorically. At least for once they weren't in a grave yard. Every other day they were digging up some corpse or other. At least Dean was digging; she usually had to wait around to set the body on fire. She wondered how the chores would divvy up now that Sam was back with them. If today was anything to go by then she would still be left waiting around.

Kaida made to turn around but stopped. Someone was approaching the boys and he had a gun. It was the sheriff. Kaida didn't trust him one bit, not after what they had learned. Hobbling along on her cast, cursing it with every step she moved slowly towards the door and out towards the lake side. As she moved forward she caught snippets of conversation.

"Who are you?"

"Put the gun down Jake"

"How did you know that was there?"

"What happened- You and Bill Killed peter, drowned him in the lake and then buried the bike? You can't bury the truth, Jake. Nothing stays buried."

"I don't know what you're talking about"

"You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney 35yrs ago. That's what the hell I'm talking about."

Kaida finally made it up to them and stood between the sheriff and her brothers. "Put it down." She said with as much authority as she could. Unfortunately most people didn't take a threat from the tiny female Winchester seriously, and that was even less likely while she was on crutches. Dean grinned as she spoke. Trust Kaida, never far behind and always overprotective. "I'd do what she says Jake; she's a little bit crazy." She rolled her eyes, couldn't he let any opportunity slip by. "Love you to Dean" she replied sarcastically before turning to Jake. "Put the gun down!"

He ignored her. "How did you know that was there?" Seeing how agitated Kaida was getting Sam reached out and lowered the gun. Just then Andrea ran up and all conversation stopped. "Dad?" Jake's attention went to his daughter but not for long. "You killed him and now you've got one seriously pissed off spirit." Kaida was running out of patience, she could feel frost coursing through her body. "It's gonna take Andrea, Lucas, everyone you love. It's gonna drown them. And it's gonna drag their bodies god knows where, so you can feel the same pain Peter's mum felt. And then after that it's gonna take you, and it's not gonna stop until it does."

The rest of the conversation was missed by Kaida as she looked back at the house. She had caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning she saw Lucas moving off towards the water. "Alright listen to me, all of you. We need to get you away from this lake as far as we can right now." Kaida shook her head. "We have bigger problems than that right now." She indicated towards where Lucas stood. "Lucas!" As one they all ran towards the water's edge. Kaida hobbled along for a couple of steps before stopping in frustration.

Meanwhile Lucas had been pulled into the water just as the others reached the lake. Jake jumped into the water and waded out into the open water. Crap Kaida thought as she attempted to move again. This was not going well. Watching Sam and Dean dive into the water she finally lost her temper. The frost spread through her to the useless cast. Feeling it go brittle she smashed her foot hard onto the ground shattering the plaster. If the circumstances had been different she would have laughed with relief. Instead she pulled herself up and moved as fast as she could towards the water.

Leaning down Kaida touched the surface and concentrated. If she was careful she could affect the water without harming the people beneath its surface. As the ice spread she brought her crutch down on top of it and then fell back in relief. She watched as first Dean and then Sam stood and walked towards the bank. Dean was holding Lucas but Sam shook his head. They had been too late to save the sheriff.

Kaida was receiving a very long and boring lecture from both Winchesters as she packed. She wasn't really listening. But it had something to do with ignoring medical advice. She ignored them as best as she could as she shouldered her bag. "Are you done?" she asked as she headed to the door. She was perfectly fine. She didn't need that stupid cast on anymore. "No Kaida, we are not done!" Fantastic. "You were stupid and irresponsible and you could have gotten yourself hurt" OK, she would probably be saying the same things to them if circumstances were different but that didn't mean they were right. "What if it hasn't finished healing you could cause yourself permanent damage." Permanent damage? Permanent damage! Their whole life was a series of injuries one after the other. She didn't expect to live past 25, what did it matter if she damaged her leg slightly. Besides she was fine. Of course she kept her opinions to herself. It was better to let them get it out of their system. Arguing would only prolong the process.

Instead of listening to the rest of their ridiculous rants Kaida occupied herself with thoughts of the case they had just finished. It hadn't exactly been successful. Alright they had saved Andrea and her son, but they had failed in other ways. Yes the spirit was gone, but only because it had gotten what it wanted in the end. They had failed to save Jake, or his friend Bill or any of the others that had been taken. To be honest Jake and Bill deserved what they got, it was their fault that all this had happened in the first place, but she knew it didn't sit well with her brothers. Any loss of human life was too much. That was where their thoughts differed from her own. She had no problem with sacrificing one to save the many, if the person deserved it, but they didn't. Out of the three of them she was the only one willing to take a human life if she needed to, and the only one who had- at least intentionally. The difference she supposed came from their motivation. While her brothers fought to save the world from things that went bump in the night, she fought to save them. She was a hunter because they were. Simple as that. Not that she didn't enjoy their work. Sometimes she wondered whether it was healthy to enjoy their violent calling as much as she did but it wasn't worth analysing. Things were the way they were and that was that.

Finally they were in the car and ready to leave. Andrea and Lucas had come to see them off. They had insisted on giving them some sandwiches for the journey, some of which Kaida was already in the process of devouring and now they were ready to leave the town behind them. Kaida wondered briefly where they were going now, but it didn't matter. One town was as good as another. Until John came out of hiding the only thing they could do was continue taking cases. She smiled looking over at the front seat. Dean was settling in for a long drive and Sam was fiddling with the tape player. She too another bite of her sandwich. These were the best moments. The peace after a case when it was just them and the road. Sometimes she loved her life.


	15. Faye

The Weapon

Chapter 15

Faye Davis sat up from her books and stretched. It had been a long night, but she was finally done. She moved the newly completed essay to one side and looked at her phone. 3:30 Am. It really was late. She stood up from the desk and moved across the room. She really should get some sleep.

Ready for bed now she climbed in and moved to switch her phone on. She stopped. She looked at the screen for a few seconds, as if expecting it to ring. It didn't. She had been doing this a lot recently. Waiting for a call that never came.

Don't be ridiculous, she thought. Who would phone me? But she knew who she wanted to call. It had been months since she had last heard from Kaida. Months. That had been the one thing Faye had asked for when she left. She knew she didn't deserve it, but she had made Kaida promise to keep in touch.

_Faye stood on the porch bags in hand and waited. She couldn't go yet, not yet. "Faye, sweetheart. We really should be going." Her mother said from the front seat of the car. But she couldn't, not yet. Kaida had promised, she had promised she would be here. She had said no matter what, she would be here. Images rose unbidden in her mind. Visions of the last time Kaida had been hospitalised. During their final year at school, before she had started working for her parents in the cafe and before Kaida had been hunting full time; before Sam had left- she remembered seeing her lying there on that hospital bed covered in tubes and wires. The bruises making her look smaller than she actually was. No, no, don't do this, she scolded herself. She's fine, she's always fine. Even then she had healed quicker than anyone had expected._

_Just then she heard the familiar roar of an engine. The sound that always made her heart leap and brought a smile to her face. She breathed a sigh of relief as the Impala pulled up. The passenger door flew open and Kaida rushed towards her. Without thought for who might be watching they kissed deeply. The last few months had been hard, harder than either of them had expected. With Kaida travelling so much they had barely seen one another. _

"_I thought we'd missed you" Kaida said when they drew apart. "You know I couldn't leave without seeing you" she replied. Kaida laughed but stopped abruptly. "I won't see you for a long time now" she said. "But you WILL see me" Faye said emphatically, but Kaida looked at the ground, hiding behind her hair. "You know we can't do this Faye, we can't" She could see where this was going and she had to put a stop to it. She couldn't breathe. "No, we can. It's no different. What's the difference between you coming to see me here and you coming to see me at college" Kaida pulled away completely now and Faye felt a pain in her chest. "It's just different" That was the way things were. It was all or nothing. Kaida would not be able to cope with Faye's ordinary life and Faye couldn't live Kaida's life._

_Despite how empty she felt Faye moved towards her mother's car. Her parents had worked too hard for her not to go. And if she didn't go now, she never would. When she reached the car door she stopped. She couldn't do it, she couldn't let go completely. She turned back, just once. "Just promise me one thing sparky?" Kaida smiled at the name and nodded. "Anything" Faye took a deep breath "Just promise me you'll call, let me know your ok" Kaida nodded and Faye wondered whether she was making this easier or more difficult. She didn't care, she needed it. "I promise"_

And for a while that's how it had been. Every week there had been a call; and then every few weeks and once a month, then every few months. Now, now it had been nearly ten months. They each had their own lives now. She had no delusions about that. They weren't a couple now; they hadn't been for over three years. They had each had flings with other women. But she would be lying if she said she didn't miss her, or what they had before. And secretly she hoped that Kaida missed her too.

They had been had been incredibly close at one time. Faye knew that aside from her family she was the only one who knew the truth about Kaida. She had been trusted with the family secret and she had kept it. She knew the truth about what was out there and about what they fought. But most of all she knew what Kaida could do. Maybe that's why she had chosen the courses she had. History, Mythology and Folklore. Maybe one day she could figure out what Kaida never had. Maybe one day she could call and say she knew all the answers. But until that day all she could do was wait and hope the female hunter called her.

Clicking off the light Faye drifted off to sleep and dreamt of hands that were either too hot or too cold and sparked the air.


	16. Sleepless Night

The Weapon

Chapter 16

Kaida stirred and looked at the clock on her phone. 3:30Am. the TV was on and without surprise she noticed that Sam was still awake. She knew that a nightmare hadn't woken him, but only because he was now trying to avoid sleep entirely. Dean on the other hand was spread out haphazardly on his bed dead to the world.

Standing up she moved towards the door. "Where are you going?" Sam asked not looking away from the screen as he flicked through the channels. "Just going to get some fresh air" She said opening the door and stepping out into the cool breeze. She hated nights like this. They were between hunts, with no idea where they were going or what their next move would be. It was at times like this that they all had time to stop and think, which she personally didn't want to do.

Kaida leant against the rail and stared off into the darkness. When they were busy she managed for the most part to keep her worries in check, but right now? Right now she her mind was racing with insecurities. For over a decade now she had defined her existence on her ability to protect her family and now: John was gone, Sam was becoming more and more sleep deprived and full of guilt, his girlfriend was dead and Dean was running himself ragged trying to keep them all together. She really was making a mess of everything.

"You have to come inside and get some sleep" Sam was suddenly right beside her. She must have really be messed up for him to be able to sneak up on her. "I'm fine" she said although she was feeling far from it. Unfortunately he knew that. "No you're not" He could talk. Sam was the master of the false 'I'm fine'. "Neither are you" She felt him shrug beside her. "I'm dealing" She had finally had enough. She snapped around so that she was facing him. "No you're not Sam. Don't lie to me. I know you better than anyone else does. You can't just stop sleeping because you are afraid of what you might see in your dreams." She was practically screaming at him now, but Sam stood his ground shouting back at her. "And you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened!" She couldn't believe what he was saying. Of course it was her fault. It was her job to protect him and she had failed. "Yeah because I did such a good job" She said sarcastically. "But you did." He replied and he meant it. Although he had been angry at her before, he knew she had done her best. "No I screwed up royally" She kicked the gravel under her feet a couple of times. Why did she have to feel like this? Never, even as a child had she ever felt so useless. "No, you did all that you could. This proves it." Sam moved her hair aside so that he could see the scar she carried. She flinched away. "It proves I failed"

She folded in on herself growing even smaller still but he didn't stop. "No, it proves you did all that you could to get us out. You got me out. There is no way I can ever pay you back for that." She shrugged. "You could stop pulling yourself apart and try and survive this." Sam looked down at his feet as she continued. "I know it seems impossible right now, and I can never understand what you're going through. I mean I've never felt that way about anyone..." He turned to look at her confused. What? That didn't make any sense. She had been the well adjusted one, at least when it came to relationships. He had never been confident around woman, being far too shy and overly concerned with his studies. Really it was a miracle he had found Jessica at all. And Dean, well Dean had never had a relationship lasting more than one night. But somehow Kaida had managed it. Since the age of about 17 Kaida had had Faye. "Yes you have, I know you have" She flinched again as if the conversation pained her physically. "That's how I knew that Jessica was the one, you know. The moment we met I thought 'this must be what Kaida felt when she met Faye' I mean anytime any of us saw you together, we knew you were right for each other, we just knew. Even dad."

She closed her eyes and turned away from him completely. She couldn't do this, not right now when she was already feeling so terrible. "Sam, please" But he kept going in his ignorance. "How is she anyway? We should swing by or something, while we are between cases." Kaida snapped. Stop it Sam, stop it. She left ok. Faye left, she went off to college about a year after you did. OK" She spun around so that she could lean back against the barrier, turning away from Sam once again. "Then you did what I couldn't have done" He had never realised that she felt so abandoned. "What?" But it magnified her strength. "You let her go" He never would have been able to do that, he still couldn't. With that Sam walked back towards the room leaving her alone with her thoughts, while he contemplated his own.

Kaida, little Kaida had somehow but Faye's safety, Faye's life ahead of her own. She had been able to let her leave, let her walk away. But K had always been the brave one; she always put others ahead of herself. She had even had the courage to tell Faye the truth, warned her about what was out there. That was the one thing he had never been able to do. Too scared that he might lose the love of his life, only to lose her anyway.

Kaida watched the door close behind him before taking her phone out once again. She looked at the screen for a couple of seconds, hoping that it would ring so that she wouldn't have to decide whether to dial the number or not. _"Just promise me you'll call. Promise me you'll let me know that you're OK"_ It had been months since she had last called. Months. In their entire lives they had never gone so long without talking. But there was a reason for her reluctance now.

_Kaida collapsed onto the motel room bed exhausted. It had been one hell of a hunt. It had taken all three of them, John Dean and Kaida, to beat the spirit. But now it was done. Finally they could have a night of well deserved rest. But first thing was first. As she had gotten into the habit of doing after a particularly hard hunt she reached for her phone and scrolled through the names. She pressed dial and waited with barely contained excitement. She loved times like this, when she could hear that voice again. The voice that calmed her and made her feel that life was more than the hunt. More than protecting her family, that she was more than a weapon. As the phone continued to ring her smile faded. Where was she, why wasn't she answering? She breathed a sigh of relief as the phone clicked with a connection, and then the smile fell from her face entirely. __**"Hi, this is Faye Davies. I can't come to the phone right now. But if you leave your name and number I will get back to you"**__ Kaida sighed. She couldn't have everything her own way she supposed. "Hi Faye, it's me Kaida. Just wanted to call and check in. Hope the classes are going well. Give me a call when you get a chance." She hung up and fell back onto the bed. Life suddenly seemed less bearable._

_It had been a few days before her phone had finally rung. She had been full of apologies. There had been a party, and then there had been so much coursework and one thing and then another. They had talked briefly before Faye had been called back to her real life. It was then that Kaida had decided she couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't listen to the stories; she couldn't keep seeing glimpses of Faye's life without her. No, what she had to do was walk away entirely. In the end it would be better for the both of them._

Kaida put the phone away and walked back into the room. She glanced over at the sofa noticing that Sam was still awake, but she walked past him and towards the bathroom. She might as well have a shower or something as she wouldn't be able to sleep now.


	17. Fear

The Weapon

Chapter 17

Sam balanced the Styrofoam cups and the pastries in his hands as he closed the door behind him with his boot. He took a quick survey of the room before he stepped further into the room. Dean was lying spread out on his bed but there was no sign of Kaida. The bathroom door was closed as it had been when he had left. The shower wasn't running though. She was probably hiding in there so she wouldn't be alone with him after their earlier conversation. Once Dean was up and about she would reappear. He watched as Dean moved his hand under the pillow to where Sam knew a knife lay, so he was awake. "Morning Sunshine"

Dean blinked up at his brother. It was alright, it was only Sam. "What time is it?" It seemed far too early to be awake. "It's about 5:45" Definitely too early to be awake. "In the morning?" Sam laughed. "Yep" He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Where does the day go?" Dean looked around while his brain caught up. No sign of Kaida and Sam's bed didn't look like it had been slept in. "Did you get any sleep last night?" he asked. Sam shrugged. "Yeah, I grabbed a couple of hours" Dean scoffed. "Liar, cause I was up at 3 and you were watching the George Foreman infomercial" Dean watched as Sam put the coffees and food on the side table. "What can I say? It's riveting TV" Dean rolled his eyes. This conversation wasn't getting anywhere, so he changed the subject. "Where's Kaida?" he asked. Sam nodded towards the bathroom door. "I think I really put my foot in it Dean" he said. At his brother's questioning gaze Sam continued with a question of his own. "Why didn't you tell me Faye left?"

Ah well that explained it. There was one subject no one brought up in front of Kaida, not in the last three years anyway. Even when he would wind her up about the women she dated, Dean would stay well clear of Faye Davis: The one thing outside of their little family that Kaida truly cared about. "She doesn't like to talk about it and I forgot you didn't know" Sam nodded. They would have continued their conversation but just then the bathroom door opened. Kaida moved towards the pastries sitting on the table. If there was one thing guaranteed to bring Kaida out of hiding it was food.

Dean did his best top appear as if they hadn't been talking to her, unfortunately the only thing he could think of was to go back to his earlier questions for Sam. "When was the last time you had a good night's sleep?" Kaida grabbed one of the coffees and poured some sugar into it before taking a sip. "I don't know, a little while, I guess. It's not a big deal." Kaida scoffed unconsciously giving away that she was listening to their conversation. Dean also wasn't convinced. "Yeah it is" Sam brushed their disapproval aside. "Look I appreciate your concern..." He didn't get very far before Dean interrupted him. "Oh, I'm not concerned about you. It's your job to keep my ass alive, so I need you sharp."

Kaida having finished her own pastry eyed up the bag of untouched breakfast goods. Sam snatched the bag away from her before handing one to Dean. The food however didn't distract the eldest Winchester. "Seriously, are you still having nightmares about Jess?" Sam handed Dean's coffee to him. "Yeah. But it's not just her. It's everything. I just forgot, you know? This job. Man it gets to you." Dean shrugged. This was how their life was. This was what they were raised for. "You can't let it. You can't bring it home like that." Kaida sat down cross-legged on the floor. It wasn't often they were this serious so early in the morning. "So, what? All this it... Never keeps you up at night?" Sam asked, Dean just shook his head. "Never? You're never afraid" Dean shrugged. "No, not really" Kaida smiled as Sam reached forward and removed the knife from under Dean's pillow. That wasn't unusual, they all had one hidden somewhere at night. When Sam waved the weapon as evidence Dean snatched it back. "That's not fear. That is precaution." Kaida wondered how long he had been at college before he stopped hiding knives under his pillow, she knew she never would. "All right, whatever. I'm too tired to argue."

The three of them sat in silence finishing they're breakfast. Sam was glad that Kaida was no longer hiding from him, but he wasn't really sure what to say now. He wasn't sure how to take Dean's apparent lack of fear. Maybe he was just out of practice. He had spent so long trying to get away from this life, and now that he was back in it he didn't know quite what to do. Had he ever felt this afraid before, before he left? He didn't think so. He had worried in a vague way, wishing for a normal life, but nothing like this. He hadn't slept in days. Maybe it was also the realization that he had not been alone when he left. He had assumed for so long that he really had been safer, that he was somehow off the radar to the supernatural world. But that security had come from Kaida watching his back. Skulking in the shadows ready to step in when he missed something. And apparently he had missed quite a lot. Maybe Dean had been right. Maybe he was out of practice.

Kaida was thinking about fear. She was trying to remember the last time she had been afraid for herself, not afraid for her brothers, or afraid that she would fail, but actually afraid for herself.

_Kaida pressed herself harder against her mother. __Then the world moved unexpectedly. Her father had lunged forward catching her mother in the stomach with the knife. But she refused to go down. Then her mother stretched out her hand._

_Kaida stepped through the doorway and stopped. She couldn't breathe, this couldn't be happening! It couldn't be true. _"_Well well Kaida. Fancy seeing you here. How long has it been, 11? 12 years?" Unconsciously she took a step back and away from her father, just as Dean stepped to stand in front of her._

_Kaida stood in front of the door. She could do this. She had to do this. If she didn't face this man now, he would follow her for the rest of her life. She had to meet him face to face, hunter to hunter. She could prove to everyone, including herself, that she was the stronger. "You don't have to go out there alone" She shook her head as she strapped the knife to her arm. "I need to do this. If either of you take one step outside this door, I will put you in the hospital. That's a promise" Then with one deep breath she was outside and face to face with her father._

_Kaida lost her balance as she moved to strike. She tumbled onto the ground, knowing he had the advantage. She was exhausted. He had been steadily wearing her down. Suddenly she knew that he could kill her. No, she wouldn't let him. As he raised his knife to deliver the killing blow she moved swiftly to the side missing the blade by mere millimetres. Then she flipped herself back onto her feet, pushing her father onto the ground. Now she was going to finish it._

_"Just promise me one thing sparky?" Kaida smiled although she couldn't breathe. She couldn't believe she was really doing this, that she was letting Faye walk away. "Anything" How was she doing this. "Just promise me you'll call, let me know your ok" There was only one answer she could give to that. "I promise" Kaida held herself together long enough to watch the car drive away. As she felt Dean's hand on her shoulder she broke. For once in her life he couldn't't help, no one could._

The ringing of Dean's phone brought them all out of their thoughts. Finally they had a case.


	18. Reminders of Old Cases and New Worries

The Weapon

Chapter 18 – Reminders of old cases ad new worries

Kaida stood slightly behind her brothers as they walked beside Jerry Panowski. They had helped him before, while Sam had been at school and he needed their help again.

"Thanks for making the trip so quick. I ought to be doing you guys a favour, not the other way around. Dean and your dad really helped me out."

She grinned. That's the way things went. John and Dean got the credit and Kaida stayed in the shadows. She faded into the background and that was the way she liked it. It was useful to be underestimated.

"Yeah he told me. It was a poltergeist?"

Kaida flinched as did Dean but neither Sam nor Jerry noticed. It had not been a pleasant hunt not by a long shot. Even with the three of them it had been tough going. Some cases were easy and some weren't. This one definitely hadn't been easy.

_The house creaked loudly as they closed the door behind themselves. It was threatening them, letting them know that it would beat them. Kaida laughed. No poltergeist had ever beaten them, not one and now that the family had finally gone and left them they could do their job. John gave her a warning look. It was one she had seen often enough. It was a look that reminded her that this was serious, this was not a game, and this was their job. "Sorry Sir" she said automatically standing straighter. Dean smirked at her until John turned to face him when his face went blank. "Right let's get to work" John said._

_They split up to lay their protection. They had to place the herbs all over the house and then recite the exorcism together from different points. It would have been easier with four. Then they could chant from the four compass points, unfortunately however they were only three. The spell wouldn't be as strong but they would get it done, they always did._

_As soon as they moved to lay the first herbs Kaida was in no mood for laughing anymore. Apparently the spirit had reason to be cocky. As soon as she was out of sight of the others Kaida felt the floor lurch beneath her and suddenly everything was wrong. The walls were moving as if the house was breathing, she could feel it pulsing in time with her own breathing. It was if it was alive and she was inside it. "It's not going to work you know. I'm not scared of you" Fortunately she sounded much more confident than she actually was. When the movement stopped she placed the herbs and moved to the centre of the room and waited for her cue._

_When her watch started to beep Kaida began to read from the paper she held in her hand. As she spoke the furniture rose up around her and began to circle around. It would be a disconcerting sight if she hadn't seen it before, but she had so she kept reading. The spirit however wasn't done. Kaida ducked as a chair came hurtling towards her, then another and another. It was becoming more and more difficult to keep her eyes on the page while she dodged the spinning debris. Enough, she had had enough. The next item that flew towards her, she didn't even know what it was, went up in a ball of fire. She screamed the exorcism out as she flashed flames around her. By this point she didn't care that these were someones things. She didn't like being used for target practice. Then it happened, the heavy desk that had been sitting unmoving against the wall lifted itself into the air and slammed against Kaida knocking her out of the ring of salt she had made._

_Damn, she couldn't stop. She had to finish her portion of the ritual and she had to do it now. She stood and sending ice out to freeze the remainder of the furniture and ornaments she strode determinedly towards the salt ring. Now she really had had enough. She finished the spell glaring defiantly up at the ceiling._

_There was a flash of light and then everything was quiet. Kaida defrosted the air and flinched as everything fell to the ground. She smiled as she heard two sets of feet running towards where she was. "I'm fine" she yelled "It was just the furniture" And then they were leaving, their job done._

_Kaida collapsed onto the motel room bed exhausted. It had been one hell of a hunt. It had taken all three of them, John Dean and Kaida, to beat the spirit. But now it was done. Finally they could have a night of well deserved rest. But first thing was first. As she had gotten into the habit of doing after a particularly hard hunt she reached for her phone and scrolled through the names. She pressed dial and waited with barely contained excitement. She loved times like this, when she could hear that voice again. The voice that calmed her and made her feel that life was more than the hunt. More than protecting her family, that she was more than a weapon. As the phone continued to ring her smile faded. Where was she, why wasn't she answering? She breathed a sigh of relief as the phone clicked with a connection, and then the smile fell from her face entirely. __**"Hi, this is Faye Davies. I can't come to the phone right now. But if you leave your name and number I will get back to you"**__ Kaida sighed. She couldn't have everything her own way she supposed. "Hi Faye, it's me Kaida. Just wanted to call and check in. Hope the classes are going well. Give me a call when you get a chance." She hung up and fell back onto the bed. Life suddenly seemed less bearable._

"Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right?"

Kaida shook herself. She couldn't do this now. They had a case, they had work to do. She had to pay attention. Unfortunately she had rejoined the conversation in the middle of a subject she didn't like, Sam and College.

"Yeah, I was. I'm – taking some time off."

See, that was the problem. She could forgive Sam for leaving, even if she couldn't understand why he would want any other life than this, and she could understand why he had come back to hunting after everything that had happened. But once they did it, once they found John and the demon, and everything they hoped for happened. Sam was still going to leave. The first opportunity he had Sam would go straight back to college and what then. Sam would be gone, John would have no reason to fight anymore. Even Dean would give it up, no matter how much he protested that he hated normal life. And where would that leave her, what would she do then? Kaida had no idea and she didn't want to think about it.

"Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell. He talked about you all the time."

"He did?"

"You bet he did. Oh hey, you know I tried to get a hold of him, but couldn't. How's he doing, anyway?"

The conversation didn't seem to moving towards calmer waters so Kaida pulled back further from the men as they walked. Couldn't they just get to business already. She would feel much better with something to kill.

Dean glanced back at Kaida for a second, noticing how small she looked. It was as if when she was upset she shrunk into herself. How was he supposed to answer Jerry's question. They had no idea where their father was and it was worrying all three of them.

"He's, um, wrapped up in a job right now."

It wasn't exactly a lie, it just wasn't exactly the truth either.

"Well, we're missing the old man, but we get Sam. Even trade, huh?"

"No, not by a long shot."

The three siblings laughed, and although they tried to keep it light the sentiment fell flat.


	19. In for the Long Haul

The Weapon

Chapter 19 – In for the long haul

Kaida flicked through the passenger manifests yet again while Sam glanced nervously towards the door Dean had gone through not long ago. "He's fine Sam" She said without looking up. Sam had been getting worse and worse over the last couple of weeks, trying to adapt to being on the road again and the constant excitement. Although she expected he would call it danger, which made her smile slightly. Yes sometimes they were in danger, but she made an extreme effort to keep her brothers out of any actual danger. The three of them were a match for anything they came up against, and even if they weren't there was nothing dangerous about Dean using the copier. She looked up at Sam. He was standing against the car watching the door like a hawk.

Kaida hadn't forgotten her earlier worries, or her awkward conversation with Sam, but with a job to focus on she could put it out of her mind. Sam however didn't seem to be able to do that. Huffing she put down the papers she was holding and stood up through the sun roof, pulled herself to sit cross-legged on the roof, and flicked Sam on the ear. "Hey!" he exclaimed, rubbing his ear. "He's fine!" she repeated now that he was looking at her and away from the door. She understood what he was thinking. It must be so difficult to come back to all of this. Maybe he was only just now realising what it would mean to be back, to do this every day for the long haul. Unfortunately they wouldn't get a chance to talk about it as just then Dean came out of the store grinning triumphantly.

"You've been in there forever" Sam huffed as Dean approached the car. "You can't rush perfection" Dean replied, but the smile slid off his face when he spotted Kaida. "K! Don't sit there, you'll scratch the paintwork!" Rolling her eyes Kaida climbed back through the sun roof and onto the back seat. In the meantime Sam had snatched the ID from Dean's hand and was looking at them incredulously. "Homeland Security?" He asked "That's pretty illegal, even for us." Kaida sniggered. "Yeah well, it's something new. You know? People haven't seen it a thousand times." The brothers moved to get into the car, but just as he opened the door Dean leant over and wiped an imaginary scuff off of the roof.

"Alright so what have you got?" Dean asked sliding into the driver's seat. Sam removed the Dictaphone from his pocket and explained what they had figured out. "Well, there's definitely EVP on the cockpit voice recorder." While they talked Kaida highlighted a couple of names on the passenger manifest. "No Survivors!" Kaida barely heard the recording. She had listened to it enough times. She transferred the notes she and Sam had made to a single sheet of paper and passed it to Sam along with the highlighted names. "No Survivors? What's that supposed to mean? There were seven survivors." Sam shrugged taking the papers Kaida had passed to him. "Beats me" He glanced at them, summing up the situation to himself in one look. "So what are we thinking? A haunted flight?" Kaida frowned slightly. Despite the evidence to the contrary, she wasn't convinced. No survivors was a strange thing for a spirit to say. "There's a long history of spirits and death omens on planes and ships, like phantom travellers. Or remember flight 401?" She glanced down at the scrap pieces of paper once again. Something wasn't right. "Right. The one that crashed, the airline salvaged some of its parts, and put it in other planes, and then the spirit of the pilot and co-pilot haunted those flights." Kaida tuned out the rest of the conversation concentrating on her notes. Something really wasn't right.

Kaida huffed as she sat in the car waiting. Sam and Dean were off conducting interviews again, which meant that she had to sit quietly waiting for them. She tapped her pen against her notepad a couple of times. Hopefully they would learn something from the guy's wife. They had already been to see one of the surviving passengers, and what they had learned then had confirmed Kaida's suspicion that it wasn't a spirit behind the crash. Now they were talking to a dead passenger's wife.


	20. The two faces of Kaida

The Weapon

Chapter 20 – The two faces of Kaida

Kaida was seriously wondering whether she should unpack her backpack here in the backseat of the impala and just live right here, because here she was yet again waiting for her brothers stretched out in the backseat of the car while they posed as homeland security. Unfortunately now that she was alone once again the old worries were creeping back in. It was one thing interviewing witnesses, but it was another thing entirely sneaking into a hanger posing as homeland security. Besides she was bored. She functioned much better with something to fight, something to push against. It was only when she was fighting something that she could really be herself. Out in the real world, even on the edges of society she had to pretend to be someone she wasn't. Even on the road and between the endless stream of motels she had to act as normal as possible. She couldn't give the game away. It was one of the first things John taught her all those years ago. Don't draw attention, fade into the background.

_Kaida was sitting at the table, her legs swinging. They were in a diner miles away from where they had started but miles away from their next destination. She was happier than she could ever remember being in her short life so far. 12 years old and it was as if she finally knew where she belonged. Sam, her best friend and now her brother was sitting across from her and Dean beside her. They were all sipping on sodas while John, her new father, was ordering them something to eat. For what felt like the first time in her life she had a family. She could finally be herself, for the first time she didn't have to be ashamed of what she could do, not with them. For a month she had been encouraged by John and his sons to push her powers to the limit, encouraged to learn all that she could about her abilities before they had all left town together as a family. She held onto the large glass with both hands while she took another sip from the straw. Ice spread from her fingers over the glass cooling the liquid. But suddenly a large hand grabbed her small wrist. John had come back. "Not here Kaida" he said, looking around to see if anyone had noticed. "Not in public"._

He had been right, as he often was. In their line of work it was better not to draw too much attention. The older she had gotten however, the more difficult that had been. As her abilities had grown stronger, it had been harder and harder to keep them hidden. That was why she had forced herself not to fight back when she was bullied at school, why she kept to the shadows and out of sight as much as possible. She had learned early on, that being small and fragile had some advantages. She looked defenceless and so people treated her as such. And then there were her brothers. At school most had assumed that hurting the youngest Winchester would bring about the wrath of her older brothers, which it often did. And with Dean's reputation and Sam's impressive height, most avoided that if they could.

As a result of all this, Kaida had two distinct sides to her personality. At home, wherever that happened to be this week, she was open and playful. But out in the 'real world' as she called it she was quiet and shy. Hunting however she could be both. She could be stealth itself when she needed to be, but she could also be wild and powerful, the perfect weapon. Right now however, she was in limbo. Right now she was on full alert with nothing to do. She was on full alert because those it was her duty to protect could be in danger, and she couldn't do anything because she was out here in the car when they might need her.

Kaida looked at her phone, nothing. That was another thing that worried her, John. He had not been in touch for a long time. For all they knew he was lying dead somewhere. It was unlike him to be away so long and not send any word. Then there was Sam, he was holding on by his fingernails. He had hardly slept since Jessica's death and whenever he did, he had terrifying nightmares. Kaida didn't know how long he could go on like this and it was worrying that he refused to talk about it. The three of them had been incredibly close once, but not now. She could see how much that realisation was hurting Dean, and if she was being honest it hurt her as well. Ever since Sam had left to go to college she had felt as if she wasn't good enough to do her job. Sam had left because he wanted a nice normal and above all else 'safe' life. Kaida couldn't help but take that seriously, for the last decade it had been her job to keep him safe, and suddenly that wasn't enough.

_Kaida pulled back into the shadows as they emerged, walking towards the Impala. Dean had done his job, Sam had come this far, to the car, which meant that he would come with them. He would help them look for john. And if only for a short time they would be a family again. Unfortunately their overheard conversation stopped those thoughts dead._

"_...The Weapon training, and melting the silver into bullets? Man, Dean, we were raised like warriors."_

_That was the way things were, someone had to fight those creatures, and someone had to stop them, why shouldn't it be them. They had the knowledge, they had the training, and in Kaida's humble opinion it was an awful lot of fun._

"_So what you gonna do? You're gonna live some normal, apple pie life? Is that it?"_

_Normal wasn't for them, they knew too much, they saw the meaning and the danger in the shadows. They would always know what was out there._

"_No. Not normal. Safe."_

_It was as if she had been stabbed in the chest. Safe, he wanted safe! That's all she had done for the last ten years, even when he had come here, ran away from them, she had kept him safe._

"_And that's why you ran away?"_

_Dean looked over towards her then, where he knew she would be and she could see that he was as shocked as she was. At least one person thought she was still doing her job._

And here she was again, not doing her job. Instead she was sitting here useless in the car waiting for her brother's to do the work before she could go beat up whatever this thing was. Kaida ducked down out of view as another car pulled into the car park. Maybe she wasn't completely useless after all. As the two men got out of the car and walked over to the hanger she sent the text she had been writing, before starting the car and moving around to the back of the building.

After a few minutes of sitting in the idling vehicle two figures clambered over the fence and jumped into the car. They had barely shut the doors when Kaida floored the accelerator. She laughed, seriously what would they do without her.


	21. The Trouble With Demons

The Weapon

Chapter 21 – The Trouble with Demons

The three of them were sitting now in Jerry's office putting everything together. They had done all the research and now knew what they were up against even if it didn't cheer any of them any. It was a demon; a demon had possessed one of the passengers and brought down the plane. It had actually taken them a while to figure it out, mainly because none of them wanted to take on a demon so soon after what happened to Jessica, but also because this wasn't their usual demonic possession.

_They were sitting in the same office just after leaving the hanger. In fact Sam and Dean were still wearing their suits, much to Kaida's amusement. They looked so odd in formal wear, to her at least. Maybe it was because they only time they dressed in anything other than jeans was when they were conducting interviews. The real Winchesters lived in cheap jeans and second hand biker boots. As Jerry left to deal with his workers out in the hanger Kaida stretched with exaggerated movements. In her baggy jeans and t-shirt she was much more comfortable than her brothers and she couldn't help rubbing it in a little. Dean scowled at her before continuing the conversation._

"_Hmm. You know, there's not too many things that leave behind a sulphuric residue."_

_There was one thing and they all knew it._

"_Demonic possession?"_

_Demons were not what any of them wanted to deal with right now. Demons were hard to pin down. They could be anybody anywhere and they couldn't be killed._

"_It would explain how a mortal man would have the strength to open up an emergency hatch"_

_The problem was this was way off the map. It was unheard of for a demon to act in this way, At least in their experience. This was big time._

So they had done what they always did and thrown themselves into research. It was their back up plan. They may have had a vague idea about what they were up against, but they had never seen anything like this before. So it was time for research. They needed to know exactly what they were getting in to. It was one thing John had insisted on and it had stuck.

_They were sitting in the motel room surrounded by books. Sam had the laptop open in front of him while Dean and Kaida searched through the books and documents. Kaida smiled slightly at the sight of her brothers immersed in research. She knew why John had always insisted they understood as much as they could before going into a situation. It wasn't just so that they could be prepared, it was so they didn't kill the wrong thing, and she appreciated it. It was one of the things that made them different from her father and it always made her smile. But they had done as much research as they could and all they could do now was talk it out._

"_So, every religion in every world culture has the concept of demons and demonic possession, right? I mean Christian, Native American, Hindu, you name it."_

_They had gone over this earlier, but it didn't help. They all knew that demons existed._

"_Yeah, but none of them describe anything like this."_

_But then Sam came out with something they hadn't gone over before._

"_Well, that's not exactly true. You see according to Japanese beliefs, certain demons are behind certain disasters, both natural and man-made. One cause's earthquakes, another cause's disease."_

_Kaida would have laughed, but he was serious._

"_And this one causes plane crashes?"_

Then they had gotten the call from Jerry and things had gone from bad to worse. Jerry's pilot friend had died in a plane crash, another plane crash, and their job had suddenly become urgent. They just needed Jerry to confirm that what they had found at the latest wreckage was Sulphur. He looked up just then and confirmed their suspicions.

"Well, that's great. All right, that's two plane crashes involving Chuck Lambert. This demon sounds like it was after him."

Unfortunately their luck never ran that way.

"With all due respect to Chuck, if that's the case, that would be the good news. Chuck's plane went down exactly forty minutes into flight. And get this, so did flight 2485."

That was one problem Kaida could see in the obsessiveness with which they attacked their jobs. Due to everything they knew about the supernatural they saw patterns everywhere. They saw the omens and they knew what they meant. As a result they lived continually on edge. Was that why Sam had left? Had he finally had enough? Had he ever been able to turn off that part of his brain? Kaida didn't think she ever would. She relied on it too much, they all did.

"I went back, and there have been six plane crashes over the last decade that all went down exactly forty minutes in."

Soon they were on their way again. At least the boys were. Kaida had been left behind to track down as many of the survivors as she possibly could while they went to make sure that the ones they had tabs on where not going to be flying anytime soon. Unfortunately that left Kaida behind yet again, when she should be protecting her brothers and that didn't sit well with her. Especially when she realised that only one of the survivors was likely to be flying in the immediate future. Amanda Walker. That name glared up at her from the computer screen. She was a stewardess and tonight was her first night back at work. That meant that the boys would have to intercept that flight. In normal circumstances that wouldn't be good, but suddenly Kaida remembered something from her childhood. Something that she had forgotten about, not only because it had been a painful conversation for her, but because Dean had made her promise to keep it quiet, And until now it hadn't been an issue. She remembered that Dean was afraid of flying.

_Kaida snapped awake. She had heard something, a small meaningless noise so she sat up. She hadn't been here long in this house, a couple of week's maybe. John Winchester had taken her in and insisted she stay with them until he could sort out the legalities of adopting her officially. She still wasn't used to this place. Every little thing woke her, as it had done at the orphanage. She crept silently through the rooms, checking that everything was alright, that nothing was out of place._

_As she walked into the kitchen her breath caught, but it was only a pile of weapons stacked onto the kitchen table; nothing to be afraid of, nothing to worry about. They were John's weapons, John was a hunter, but he was a good hunter, he wouldn't kill her. He wasn't her father. It was still strange for her to be here. Not only because she had suddenly gone from pretending to be poor little harmless Kaida all alone, to living with these hunters who encouraged her to be herself, but also because she trusted them. She felt safe with them, she felt at home. Maybe it was Sam's fault. They were in the same class at school, and although the Winchesters had not been in town very long she had instantly liked him. It was only logical that she would also like his brother and his father, even if they were hunters._

"_You don't sleep much do you?"_

_Kaida spun around taking her eyes off the pile of weapons for the first time since she had entered the room. She shrugged slightly letting her head fall forwards so tat she could hide behind her hair. Unfortunately she was learning pretty quickly that that particular little trick didn't work on Dean Winchester. Most people would leave her alone and pass her by when she did that, she had felt safe being invisible to the rest of the world, But Dean didn't let her. He used to, back when she was little Kaida, Sam's friend, but not now. Ever since that day in the library he had looked at her differently and Kaida didn't know what to make of it. It worried her slightly._

_At five years old Kaida had learned to keep to the shadows. She tried to fit in just enough so that she could fade into the background and be forgotten, but now there were three people who knew exactly who she was, knew exactly what she could do and she couldn't hide anymore. Sam treated her the same as he always had, but with the added enthusiasm of having her as a sister. And John was encouraging, always trying to get her to use her abilities and to learn more about their job. But Dean, Dean had been asking questions. He had decided that he wanted to know everything about her and her past._

"_So, how old were you?"_

_Kaida's gaze snapped back up, he had been hinting at that question over the last couple of weeks, but this was the first time he had come right out and said it. She stared blankly at him for a couple of seconds but he ignored her, going to the fridge and getting out a couple of cans of soda._

"_You're afraid of something Kaida, everyone is, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out what. You're father was a hunter and he tried to kill you. Judging by the way you wake up at every little thing I'd say he's still alive and you are afraid he will come after you again. What I'm asking is when?"_

_It was out in the open now, there was no way she could avoid that question. Not when he was asking her so directly and looking straight at her. So she sat across from him and told him everything she could remember about that night. It wouldn't do to keep secrets, they were going to be family and if her father ever did find her she would need their support, all of their support._

_Exhausted and with tears in her eyes from remembering her mother, Kaida finally slumped back in her chair and took a shaky breath. She had done it, she had told the whole tale, and she had heard his. He had told her about the fire, about taking Sammy out of that burning building in his arms and about his mother. That was something they had in common, something that they could understand, that they could relate to. And in some small way it helped. _

_Dean stood up and put the empty cans on the counter. The air was clear and they were one step closer to being a family. But just before he reached the door Kaida called him back._

"_Dean? What are you afraid of?"_

"_You promise you won't laugh?"_

"_Flying. I fucking hate planes, terrifying things. We're just not built to fly. There are so many things that can go wrong with a plane. Cars I understand, but planes. That's what I'm most afraid of, Flying"_

Kaida stood up quickly and went to find Jerry. She needed to get to that airport and she needed to get there now!


	22. Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

The Weapon

Chapter 22 – Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice, That's What Little Girls Are Made Of.

Dean hung-up the phone in disbelief. Damn it, that was their last shot, and now they only had one choice. They had to get on that plane. But he didn't think he actually could. He couldn't even do it under normal circumstances, and this plane was actually going to crash. A demon was going to bring down the plane, with him on it!

Unfortunately it was at that moment that Sam decided to voice his own opinions on the matter. "All, right, it's time for plan B. We're getting on that plane." Dean's heart rate sped up, it felt as if it was going to break out of his chest as the panic slowly rose through his body. He couldn't do this, he couldn't. "Whoa, whoa, now just hold on a second." How could Sam ask him to do this? But then again Sam had never known. Dean had learned a long time ago not to show weakness, not to show fear. His entire life it had been ingrained into him to appear strong for his little brother, so he had kept it hidden, ignored the little nagging fear. As long as he drove everywhere he could pretend he wasn't afraid of anything, he could be the strong older brother who showed no fear. "Dean, that plane is leaving with over a hundred passengers on board, and if we're right that plane is gonna crash." He knew that, of course he knew that but somehow he couldn't get his legs to work. "I know" There was no way out of it, it was their duty to be on that plane, their duty to stop this thing, but still he couldn't move. "Okay. So we're getting on this plane, we need to find that demon and exorcise it. I'll get the tickets. You get whatever you can out of the trunk. Whatever will make it through the security. Meet me back here in five minutes." Sam was being logical about this, but Damn it logic didn't make his legs move. Now Sam was looking at him, waiting for him to agree but the panic had taken his voice from him.

Sam couldn't understand what was happening. Why was Dean fighting him on this? Usually by now they would be in full work mode, but his brother just stood there with an expression Sam had never seen before. "Are you okay?" he asked. If he didn't know any better he would have thought Dean looked scared. But that was impossible. "No, not really." Sam corrected himself, not scared terrified. "What what's wrong?" The confusion hit him even harder as Sam watched Dean's eyes widen further. "Well, I kind of have this problem with, uh…" No way! Sam's brain stuttered as all of the pieces suddenly fit into place. Dean had never flown, not once had he seen his brother step onto a plane. In fact they avoided airports completely. Even when they had vast distances to travel they drove. "Flying?"

Hearing the almost mocking tone in his brothers voice Dean automatically went on the defensive. "It's never realy been an issue until now." Sam was almost laughing the bastard, as if he couldn't believe it. "You're joking, right?" Damn it, Damn the demon for making him do this, and Damn Sam for making him admit that he couldn't do this, admit that he was weak. "Do I look like I'm joking? Why do you think I drive everywhere, Sam?"

They were at a stalemate and Sam could only see one way forward. "All right. Uh, I'll go." They needed to be on the plane, and if Dean wouldn't go he would just have to finish the job by himself. "What?"

Dean couldn't believe how stupid Sam was being, there was no way he was letting his baby brother get on some plane that was about to crash. It was suicide. "I'll do this one on my own." No fucking way! "What are you, nuts? You said it yourself, the plane's gonna crash!" But Sam wasn't taking no for an answer. "Dean, we cvan do it together, or I can do this one myself. I'm not seeing a third option here." That was it, Dean had found the motivation he needed to do this. He had to get on that plane. If Sam was going, he was going, as simple as that. But that didn't mean he had to like it.

Kaida scanned the seats as she stepped through the door onto the plane. She had made it she had actually made it on time. Somehow against everything she had made it to the airport before the plane and left and there they were. She could see Sam and Dean sitting side by side waiting for the plane to take off.

Dean read over the safety card yet again. To be honest he didn't thnk any of it would do any good. From what they had seen so far this demon had quite a track record for causing destruction. No survivors was his motto and Dean didn't think a flimsy little laminated piece of card was going to get in the way of that. "Just try to relax." Also Sam was enjoying this far too much, the jackass. "Just try to shut up"

As Kaida leant back in her chair she tried not to grin when she heard Dean humming while Sam teased him. "You're humming Metallica?" She glanced at her ticket and lost that battle. Somehow she had managed to wrangle a seat just in front of them and while they had been distracted she had managed to sneak into her seat without them knowing. "It calms me down."she probably should have let them know she was there by now, the plane had already taken off, but she was trying to figure out exactly how to let them know without them jumping out of their skin. Besides she was enjoying spying on them for a moment. "Look, man, I get you're nervous, all right? But you've got to stay focused. I mean we got thirty-two minutes and counting to track this thing down, or whatever it's possessing, anyway, and perform a full-on exorcism." Alright time to go to work, they had a lot to do. "Yeah on a crowded plane. That's gonna be easy." She turned in her seat to lean up over the headrest and grinned at them. "Well luckily you will have some help with that."

_Kaida followed in the shadows as her brothers got out of the car. It was Sam's 16__th__ Birthday and today John had decided that he was old enough to start hustling pool with his brother. Of course he had sent Kaida after the two just incase, but not until he had made it clear that as he needed her help on a hunt, they would be on their own and need to look after themselves. Even if he couldn't actually let them go out on their own John made sure they had some measure of independence. The plan was for Kaida to keep hidden. If they needed her help she would step in, if not they would be none the wiser to her presence._

_As she stepped through the doorway and into the crowded bar she did her best to fade into the background. Her brothers had no trouble fitting in here, Dean was 20 and having come to the bar several times in the last week had no trouble being served without the fake ID that rested in his back pocket. And Sam although he was only just 16 and still looked young, his height sold the ID John had given him that morning. Kaida however had to stick to the shadows as much as she could. She avoided the bar and hoped desperately that she would be overlooked. Luckily as always she got her wish as she watched her brothers enjoy themselves._

_A few hours later she breathed a sigh of relief as they made to leave. They had won quite a bit of money and it was getting late. They had also drunk a little to much for her liking as they stumbled towards the door. She could hear grumbling from some of the men they had taken money from so Kaida was on the alert as she followed them back towards the car._

_Unfortunately Kaida's instincts proved right as a group of men followed them into the car park. Dean knew he had been enjoying himself a little too much that night, but it was the first time he and Sam had been allowed out unescorted in four years. He grinned stupidly over at his brother as he tried to unlock the car but then he noticed them. Instantly the brothers took on a defensive stance. Drunk or not they were soldiers and a group of civilians were not going to get the better of them. "Hey Punk! We want our money back!" But before Dean vould answer Kaida was there tapping the man on the shoulder. "Is there a problem here" she asked and Dean could see her eyes sparkle ever so slightly. The man turned and leered at Kaida, but before either of her brothers could voice their annoyance at the situation she had thrown him swiftly to the ground. "Let me re-phrase that" she said standing over him with a small smile on her face. "There isn't a problem here. You lost your money fair and square. Now get out of here before I lose my temper."_

_Once the men had scarpered Kaida glared at her brothers. "Give me the keys" she said holding out her hand. "You are too drunk to drive" Reluctantly they got into the car as Kaida started the engine. "What are you doing here Kaida?" Sam asked. His head was starting to hurt as the alcoholic haze left his brain and sobriety took over. "What do you think I'm doing here Sam, saving your ass as usual. It's a good job I've been watching you all night." Sam groaned. "But how did you get here K? We're miles away from the motel and we saw Dad drive off with you hours ago." She laughed. "Well I guess, it's just that I'm made of awesome." Dean scoffed. "As far as I can figure you're made of sugar and firelighters."_

They sat with their mouths open for a couple of seconds making Kaida laugh, before they regained their composure. Sam was the first one to speak. "Kaida how in the hell did you get here?!" She shrugged. "I don't know Sammy, I guess I'm just made of awesome." Dean laughed and suddenly they all felt better. They would do their job and they would do it together."No K, you're made of Sugar and Firelighters and that's about it."


	23. Fear and Doubt

The Weapon

Chapter 23 – Fear and Doubt

They were standing a little apart from everyone else as they processed everything that had happened in the air. They were all exhausted and each had a lot to think about. They had beaten the demon, but it had shaken them all in different ways.

Dean was just happy to be back on solid ground. If he never got on another plane again it would be too soon. Being on a plane had not made him conquer his fears it had just cemented the idea in his head. Planes crash, no two ways about it they were dangerous contraptions open to sabotage by demons content on destruction. He wanted to get out of this airport and as far away from these awful machines as quickly as possible. But he also knew that you couldn't let fear rule you. Fear didn't always make you vulnerable, letting it take control did. He could see the stewardess Amanda from where he stood, and he was a little in awe of her.

_The three of them were hudled together trying to decide on their next step. The first thing to do would be to determine who the demon would possess. "It's usually going to be someone with some sort of weakness, you know a chink in the armour that the demon can worm through. Somebody with an addiction or some sort of emotional distress." There was one obvious candidate, actually there were two but Dean was going to try his hardest to ignore the sideways looks both Sam and Kaida were giving him, he was not possessed and he was not going to be, not ever. "Well, this is Amanda's first flight after the crash. If I were her, I'd be pretty messed up."_

_So it was decided, Dean would go and speak to Amanda and ascertain whether her mental state would leave her open to possession. "What if she is already possessed?" Sam asked as he and Kaida shared a look. Dean rolled his eyes, he was trying his hardest to ignore their subtle hints, but they were really starting to annoy him. "There's ways to test that. I brought holy water" He pulled the holy water out of his bag and waved it in their faces. The 'want me to take a swig and prove I'm not possessed' he kept unsaid, but Sam snatched the bottle away from him anyway. "No. I think we can go more subtle. I think we can go more subtle. If she's possessed, she'll flinch at the name of God." Great how the hell was he going to work that into conversation. Dean stood to find Amanda, but Sam called him back. "Say it in Latin" Dean rolled his eyes, what was this he wasn't an idiot. "I know" Again he turned to leave but again Sam called him back. "Uh, in Latin it's Christo" Dean resisted the urge to shout as his brother as Sam and Kaida yet again exchanged looks. "Dude, I know! I'm not an idiot!" Instead he forced himself to leave before he did more than snap at them although he muttered under his breath. Maybe now that they had done their little test on him they would get off his back. As if today wasn't hard enough._

_Eventually Dean made it to the back of the plane where Amanda was working. "Hi" Luckily part of this womans job was to help nervous fliers and as Dean needed no acting ability whatsoever for that cover that was what he was going with in the hope of starting a conversation. "Hi, Can I help you with something?" She asked and Dean had no trouble at all acting anxious as the plane shook slightly. "On, no. I'm just a bit of an uneasy flier. It makes me feel better to walk around a little bit." Alright the first had been a bit of an understatement and the second was an outright lie but he wasn't about to go all woosy on this girl no matter how scared he was. "Oh it happens to the best of us" It was easy enough to get her talking about this, but how in hell was he going to slip 'Christo' into the conversation. _

"_Of course, you being a stewardess, I guess flying comes easy to you." She laughed a little nervously at that so Dean knew he was on the right track. "You'd be surprised" Even though he knew why she wouldn't be all that keen on flying at the moment it actually made Dean feel better that he wasn't the only one having trouble, although she seemed much, much calmer than him. "Really? You're a nervous flier?" He smiled slightly at their easy conversation. "Yeah, maybe, a little bit." He really hoped that was an understatement, with what had happened to her she should be terrified, but then again she didn't know what he knew. "How is it that, being a stewardess, you're scared to fly?" _

_Maybe if he could get her to explain he could find out how she was so calm about it, and why she had gotten back on a plane so soon. "Kind of a long story" But that would have been too easy, of course she didn't want to talk about it. Some of her colleagues had died on that flight. "Right. I'm sorry for asking. You ever consider other employment?" He had to know, how did she stop it getting to her. "No. Look, everybody's scared of something. I just, uh. I'm not going to let it hold me back." Well at least some of Dean's questions were answered. In Amanda's current state of mind there was no way any demon was going to get into her head, she was too well adjusted. He on the other hand would be a much easier target, hell anyone else on the plane would probably be a much easier target. But Dean still had one problem. _

"_Christo" he whispered hoping she wouldn't question him. "I'm sorry, did you say something?" He would have to say it louder and one of two thingsa was going to happen, either she was possessed or she would think he was crazy. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of ether but he had no choice. "Christo" Well she wasn't possessed._

Sam didn't know what to think about what had transpired on the flight. It had been amusing at first to see Dean so affected by everything, especially after his comment not long ago about not being scared of anything, but then it had become quite unnerving. Dean had always been the older brother, he had always been the one telling Sam everything was going to be alright. Watching him panic in the air had been terrifying, especially when there wasn't really anything he could do to help.

"_Come on! That can't be normal!" Dean yelled as the plane shook yet again. Kaida was walking back and forward down the aisle checking for signs of possession with Dean's EMF while Sam tried to keep his brother calm. "Hey. Hey, it's just a little turbulence." It was the truth, the plane wasn't scheduled to come down for a while yet and Dean was freaking him out. "Sam, this plane is going to crash, okay? So quit treating me like I'm friggin' four" Sam took a deep breath and tried to keep himself calm as well as Dean. "You need to keep calm." Ever since they had gotten on this plane Sam had been terrified that Dean's mental state was just begging for possession, and that was all they needed right now. "Well, I'm sorry I can't." Sam looked up at Kaida as she walked past yet again shaking her head. She had found no signs of possession yet. "Yes you can" Normally this wouldn't be an issue, normally they could anything that life threw at them. "Dude, stow the touchy-feely, self-help yoga crap it's not helping." Sam tried not to let Dean get to him, he knew he wasn't helping but he was trying. He was used to things being the other way round. He was used to Dean calming him down after a fight with dad or after a horrible nightmare, but this was a new experience. _

_Kaida gave up on her search for the moment and sat with them. She caught Sam's eye but shrugged. Dean was the one who usually remained calm, who took as much enjoyment out of the hunt as he could while holding the pieces of their broken family together. Kaida could stop an argument if she needed to, and great to talk to if they were confused, but fears had no place in her life. She pushed them aside with sheer force of will and didn't accept anything else. Unfortunately both knew that this approach would only force Dean's cockyness to the surface while inside he was still jumping at every noise. There had be someway to shock Dean into action without doing that. He tried to remember how Dean had helped him in the past. He had always been upfront with him without being too forceful._

"_Listen if you're panicked, you're wide open to demonic possession, so you need to calm yourself down. Right now." As Dean took a few long breaths Sam changed the subject. He could do this, they could do this. Kaida got up again in the gise of going to the bathroom as she made another sweep._

Dean wasn't the only thing on Sam's mind however. The demon had said something that had stuck in Sam's mind. Something that he had been worrying about ever since the fire. _"I know what happened to your girlfriend! She must have died screaming! Even now, she's burning!" _ He knew he was responsible for Jessica's death, but had he really condemmed her to hell as well. "You okay?" Dean asked already back to being the big brother now that they were on solid ground again. Sam sighed. "It knew about Jessica" He said, wondering if they would pick up on how guilty he still felt for her death. "Sam, these things, they, they read minds. They lie. Alright? That's all it was."

Kaida listened to them talk and tried to take strength from what Dean said. They had all heard what the demon had said to Sam as they tried to exorcise it, but only she had heard what it had said to her as the plane thrashed from side to side. In that moment Kaida realised that there was something she was afraid of, something that scared her so much she couldn't breath.

_The whole plane shuddered violently as the demon left the body of the copilot. "Where did it go? The dark mist filled the vent and for a moment everything was calm. But just for a moment, then the plane dipped violently. "It's in the plane. Hurry up. We got to finish it. Frantically they searched for the journal so that they could finish the exorcism. Sam ran out into the aisle spotting it on the floor. At the same moment the plane lurched again and Dean pushed himself against the exit door trying and failing to keep calm as it moved from side to side. Just as Sam picked up the book Kaida began to hear whispering in her head. A whispering that seemed to block all other noise out of her mind. _

"_I know what you're afraid of little Kaida, I know what scares you most." Nothing scares me, not anymore, I'm not scared of him anymore. She thought but the voice continued. No, not your father, you stopped him didn't you. He tracked you down and then you proved him right. You killed him, you killed your own father Kaida." He tried to kill me, he was going to kill me. He threatened my family. The voice tutted at her. "No, he wouldn't have hurt them, not after he had you. He only killed monsters Kaida, he was a hunter, just like your brothers, just like John. He wouldn't have hurt them." Shut up, shut up. She didn't want to hear this. She didn't need some demon to tell her what she was afraid of. "He was right Kaida, your father was right. You ARE evil, you ARE a monster. One day you are going to bring this whole world crashing down. You will bring everything crashing down on your way to Hell and you will drag them with you. Poor Sammy, Poor Dean, Poor John and Poor Faye. You will drag them kicking and screaming into the pits of hell and you will laugh. Because your father was right Little Kaida, your father was right and they should have let him kill you."_

Demons lie, she thought trying to push the memory from her mind, but as they got back into the car the demons mocking laughter followed her and wouldn't let her forget what he had said to her.


	24. New Information

The Weapon

Chapter 24 – New Information

Kaida sat fidgeting while the other's talked. She sat against the windscreen with her legs spread out in front of her on the hood of the impala. The case had brought up more than it should have. Demons were trouble, much more dangerous than they gave them credit for. But so was fear. Fear could control you. It could break you down into a wreck and leave you alone in the dark with nothing of yourself left. She couldn't let what the demon said get to her, but he had played on the worries that already plagued her and had done so for years. She really needed to get a grip.

Meanwhile Sam and Dean were thinking about their father. They were leaning side by side against the hood of the Impala, comforted by Kaida's presence so close, but facing away from her. They had a clue finally; a lead but they didn't know what to think of it.

_Jerry had caught up with them as they were making ready to leave, another day and another case, and it was time for them to move on. Dean usually dreaded this bit; he wasn't very good at accepting thanks. He much preferred to disappear into the night without having to speak to people, but they expected the customary goodbye and the thanks that made him uncomfortable. Sam was the same, it was the way they were raised, the way John had taught them to be. It was their job whether they got thanks or not and they should not expect it. The job was its own reward; it was all that they needed. Which was all very well, until someone wanted to give them the big goodbye which left both boys shuffling their feet and looking uncomfortable?_

_As Jerry approached the car, Kaida tried not to laugh. She was just as uncomfortable with the thanks but she usually managed to avoid the full force of it. She always managed to fade into the background when she wanted to, much to their annoyance. And she managed it again now. When Jerry addressed them his words were directed at Sam and Dean, hardly acknowledging her presence at all, which was the way she liked it._

"_Nobody knows what you guys did, but I do. A lot of people could have been killed." Dean nodded a little with his head down as Jerry took his hand to shake it before turning to Sam for the same reason. "Your dad's gonna be real proud." And as Sam stepped back his head went down as well as uncomfortable as his brother. "We'll see you around, Jerry" He said, half to his shoes, before they turned to leave. But Dean stopped. He had thought of something, something that had been niggling at the back of his mind without bringing itself to the forefront. "You know, Jerry. I meant to ask you, how did you get my cell phone number anyway? I've only had it for six months." Sam looked up again in interest and Kaida raised an eyebrow. "Your dad gave it to me." Well that raised their interest even more. "What?" No one had spoken to John in months. "When did you talk to him?" Dean asked and then it was Jerry's turn to look sheepish. "__I mean, I didn't exactly talk to him, but I called his number. His voice message said to give you a call. Thanks again, guys." And then Jerry had left leaving the siblings in shock._

They had finally heard something about John, had found some contact with him, but they still felt no closer to finding him. Kaida had been right he didn't want to be found. And if John Winchester wanted to drop off the map, he dropped off the map.

_They were moving about in a panic, but their movements were practiced and confident. This was something they had done a thousand times, a normal part of their lives, a dance that they knew very well. But time it was different. This time they were running away from something terrible, they were running away from the past. No one had expected Kaida's father to turn up, they had dared to believe that he would never find them, but then he had arrived. Sitting there in his current kitchen John had hardly believed that the man across from him could be the man who tried to kill little Kaida. His Kaida, his foster daughter, his little warrior and secret weapon. He had shared his beer with the man who had tried to kill her when she was only five years old._

_But it had happened. Kaida's father had found her and if they didn't leave quickly he would be back to kill the monster he had failed to capture before. John was going to do everything he could to prevent that, but he wouldn't do it here. They were going to go underground for a while. Drop off of the radar for a while, away from the other hunters, away from any danger to the youngest Winchester. Within moments it seemed their lives were packed away and they were getting into the car. It was the middle of the night and it was incredibly dark outside. Regardless they kept the headlights off, trying to draw as little attention to themselves as possible as they made their escape. And with that they dropped off the map and managed to hide from Kaida's biggest fear, if only for a little while._

Now they had to do something with the information that they had received. It was time to follow that last lead, to hear their father's voice. They just weren't sure that they could do it. "This doesn't make sense, man." Sam said staring at the phone in Dean's hand. "I've called Dad's number like fifty times. It's been out of service." Dean turned the phone around in his hand a couple of times before he finally dialled the number and turning on the speaker phone. "This is John Winchester. I can't be reached. If this an emergency, call my son, Dean. 785-555-0179. He can help."


	25. One way to get a reaction

The Weapon

Chapter 25 – That's one way to get a reaction.

Another day another case, Dean thought as they got out of the car. And this was definitely a weird one. Unfortunately Sam wasn't concentrating on the case; he was too busy grumbling about what had happened last night.

"What? Dad used to do it all the time"

He said in his defence, his gaze shifting from the road, to his brother and back again while he waited for a reaction. But Sam remained silent. He had to do it. He hadn't known what else to do. He had to get Kaida to snap out of it and he had remembered how angry she had gotten the few times John had used her presence to his advantage in a poker game.

_Dean watched Kaida at the bar for a moment before looking back at his cards again. She was distracted. She had been distracted for a while now. There was something wrong and he didn't like that, he didn't like it one bit. He had to do something to get her out of her funk, but he wasn't sure how to get a reaction out of her. "Your bet" Dean drew his attention back to the card game and suddenly inspiration hit._

"_Kaida! Come here!" Kaida's head snapped up and looked at him questioningly, but Dean waved her over. Confused Kaida walked over and stood slightly behind Dean's chair. "What is it Dean?" but he just smirked and turned back to the other players in the game. "100 and my Baby sister." He said smugly and all Kaida could do was stand in shocked silence as the game continued._

Sam glared out of the window trying his best to ignore Dean as they drove. He hadn't really believed what was happening the night before. Especially because Dean had always been the one to fight Kaida's corner in the past, always the first to protest when it came to their little sister, even though they all knew that she could handle herself.

_They were in a dingy little back room the first time it had happened. Somehow John had found a game in the little nowhere town they were staying in. He hadn't wanted to take them with him, but they needed the money, really needed it. And there was a pool table in the front of the bar. A perfect opportunity for the boys to make some money as well. As a result they were out front trying their luck while Kaida sat behind him near the door watching both rooms quietly, but on full alert._

_She was fourteen and had managed to stay almost invisible for the entire night, until Sam and Dean returned from the nearly empty bar and sat down on either side of her. That was the way it was. She could disappear when she was on her own, but with them there, although she felt much better, she suddenly came into focus again. At that moment John had noticed the switch in attention and he had seen something he could use to his advantage. "Kaida. Can you come here a moment" he called without turning his head. He didn't have to, he knew she would follow orders and he wanted to keep the men across from him in his eye line. _

_Still sitting by the door Sam could practically feel the tension in his brother as they watched. It had taken him a little longer than Dean to realise what was happening at that moment. But they couldn't react until they knew for sure. Until he actually said the words. Sam couldn't believe what he was seeing. Surely there was some mistake, surely their dad just wanted Kaida to go and get him a beer from the bar. But in that case why not ask him or Dean? He must know that they were there; he was always aware of his surroundings and would have heard them coming back._

_Suddenly Dean was on his feet, having heard something that Sam had missed in his confusion. "Dad, you can't do this!" Dean yelled as he strode towards his father, putting a hand on Kaida's shoulder. "Get in the car" he said in her ear, but then John turned around. "No Kaida, you stay where you are." It was an order and Sam knew that she would follow it. The only time Kaida didn't follow orders was when she thought it would be safer for her brothers if she didn't, and they were both fine. Sam stood and watched his father and brother staring each other down, but they all knew who would win. Stubbornness was a family trait but John had much more practice at it than they did. Taking a step forwards Sam put a hand on Dean's shoulder, that he shrugged off instantly. He could see the look on their father's face, it said trust me. Dean's face however was just as easy to read. If anything happens to her, there will be hell to pay. Sam had seen it many times before but never directed at dad. With one final glare Dean strode out of the room and back into the bar followed closely by Sam._

_That night when they were finally all back in the car there had been long arguments, a shouting match that had lasted hours as they drove in the dark. But it had not accomplished anything; John had continued to use Kaida to his advantage despite Dean's protests. But thinking back on it later Sam had discovered that something miraculous had happened that night. For the first time Dean had stood defiantly against their father, actually shouted at him and disobeyed orders, for Kaida's sake._

Kaida ignored the tension in the car as best she could. She knew what Dean had been trying to do. It was pure coincidence that he had also won a great deal of money at the same time. He had known that there was something wrong, that she was not herself. And he had tried to snap her out of it. But it hadn't helped. She still couldn't get the demons words out of her mind. Even though Dean's distraction had done its job at the time her worries had come crashing back.

_Dean grinned triumphantly as he laid the cards down on the table while the other men groaned in defeat. He had won and he knew it. The moment the cards hit the table Kaida turned and strode back towards the bar. She ordered a beer and downed it in one go while trying to dispel her rage. Uncontrolled anger was not a good thing for her. Meanwhile Sam came up behind her quietly. Neither of them had thought that Dean would ever do that, but as he came towards them counting the money he had won she realised why. She had not thought about the demon since that moment and from the smug look on Dean's face he knew it. In that moment her rage disappeared. Dean had always been the one to campaign for what he thought was best for her and he had done it again. But it didn't take long for the demon to move back to the forefront of her mind. She would destroy him, and Sam to. She would bring them down with her into hell._

Dean looked at Kaida in the mirror and sighed. It had worked, his little distraction, for a few minutes at least she had forgotten whatever it was that worried her, and at that moment it had been worth it. But the worries were back. He could see it on her face. Could see the pain and doubt clearly and knew that she wouldn't tell him or Sam what was wrong. Usually she would voice her worries; she wasn't used to keeping her opinions to herself. Her silence meant that this was something serious, something that she felt she couldn't tell her family. In those situations there was only one person that she would talk to, and she wasn't here. Physically Kaida could deal with anything that this life threw at her, but this was something else. Something had happened on that plane. Somehow a seed had been planted, some sort of doubt and he knew that it had been the demon. It had tried to throw Sam off his game with a mention of Jessica, and it hadn't had to say anything to Dean, the airplane throwing him off centre all on its own. But what had it said to Kaida. What lie had it told that had taken root in her brain so easily? He didn't know but he was determined to find out.


	26. Don't you remember?

The Weapon

Chapter 26 – Don't you remember what it was like?

Dean pulled in to a parking space outside the morgue, but he didn't move to get out of the car. He glanced into the mirror and spoke to Kaida's reflection. "Hey K can you give us a minute?" She shrugged and leant over to whisper into Sam's ear before she moved to get out of the car. "Give him a chance Sammy, I'm fine and he was only trying to help." The confusion on his face told her he hadn't noticed what Dean had that night in the bar, and why should he. Sam had his own worries, his own problems, and maybe he needed someone or something to be mad at, something to fight, and Dean was the closest thing at the moment.

Once she had shuffled out of the back seat, Kaida took a deep breath and walked slowly towards the door. She understood why Sam was angry, she had been furious then in the moment. But as always Dean's intentions had been good. Sam just couldn't see that at the moment. So she would let them talk it out, and possibly find out something about the case while they did.

When he finally saw Kaida disappearing inside Dean turned to face his brother, who was still stubbornly looking out of the window. "Sam..." he began to say, but he was interrupted. "Dean, don't you remember what it was like? How manipulative dad could be, what could have happened to her? What nearly happened to her?" Dean nodded. He remembered, he remembered all too well. He remembered the anger coursing through him whenever his dad played that particular card; he remembered the protests and the arguments. And he remembered that time it had nearly all gone wrong.

_The tension in the room had been incredible as they played the final hand. John had been lucky the few times that he had done this before, the few times he had used Kaida had currency in a poker game. Mostly the move intimidated his opponents, assuming as they did that no man would bet his daughter on a game of cards, unless he was certain of the outcome. But they didn't know the faith he had in the female hunter. Even if things went horribly wrong, he was not worried about Kaida. Kaida could hold her own, and would not let anyone near her, especially in the way that some of these greasy men looked at her. This man however had John worried. He would not back down, and the way that he openly leered at her made disgust rise in his throat. He had to win this hand. If ever he had needed luck to smile on him it was today._

_Sam and Dean were hovering nervously next to the door, but Kaida was standing calmly by John's side. She was watching the other man closely, her finger tips twitching. Then John took his last card and that triumphant grin spread across his face. Luck was on his side once again, and every single one of them let out a sigh of relief. All except the other man, His face was sour and accusing as John's cards were revealed and he won the game. Without a word Kaida turned away from the table and headed for the restroom._

_Kaida took a moment to splash water on her face. But it was a moment too long, and so she had missed the argument that had started back in the bar. For once she was unprepared for what happened next. As she stepped through the door and began to walk back through to where her family would be waiting for her, someone grabbed her arm and there was a hand over her mouth. Her eyes narrowed and her senses were suddenly sharper than they had ever been before. She could smell the alcohol on the man's breath and feel the moisture of every exhale against her ear. "You're mine cutie, no matter what your cheating daddy says." She could hear laughter and arousal on his voice, but even with the repulsive bulge she could feel on pressed into the small of her back, she wasn't worried. _

_Without even thinking she twisted the arm that he held as she simultaneously bit the bitter sweat tasting hand in front of her mouth. Then gripping both of his arms as he stepped slightly away from her she snapped them quickly and cleanly, leaning forwards and kicking back sharply she hit the bulge that had been digging into her back with deadly accuracy and he buckled to the ground screaming in pain. _

_Without turning around Kaida rotated her shoulders once to stretch them out after the sharp movement, she strode confidently past her brothers who had come running at the scream of pain they had heard. She didn't even turn back to look when first Dean and then Sam kicked the man as he lay on the ground. They only managed it once each before John ordered them into the car. But it was a full five minutes before their father came back out to the car himself and his knuckles were badly bruised._

Dean shook the memory away and shifted in his seat so that he was facing Sam completely. "Yeah Sammy, I remember. And I remember what she did to him before we even knew what was happening back there. Kaida can look after herself." But that wasn't what had stuck in his mind all these years; they had always known what Kaida could do. What he remembered most clearly was sitting in the passenger seat of the Impala as John had gotten into the driver's seat flexing his fingers. He remembered seeing the other mans blood drying on his father's knuckles, and realising for the first time just how important Kaida had become to them all. And as his father glanced back at Kaida beside Sam in the backseat, Dean saw something that he had never seen before or since in his father's eyes when he looked at her. He saw Love there mixed with the admiration, the Love of a father for his daughter. "And I would not let anything happen to her anymore than dad would." Sam was shaking his head, but Dean continued anyway. But that isn't our biggest problem..." And he poured out his worries for their baby sister to his brother.


	27. Something familiar

The Weapon

Chapter 27 – Something familiar

Meanwhile Kaida stepped quietly into the reception and glanced around. She smiled slightly when she realised that the man behind the desk hadn't even looked up from what he was doing. She had come to rely on her ability to disappear more and more over the years. And as she did so she had gotten better at it. She didn't know why she could do it. But like her other talents it came naturally to her. She stopped in the shadows by the doorway and watched the man patiently. All she needed now was a little bit of luck and she would be able to see the body before Sam and Dean finished their little 'chat' in the car.

Today luck was on her side and looking at his watch the man got up from his seat and moved over to a filing cabinet on the far wall. Trying not to grin too much in triumph, Kaida moved as lightly as she could over to the desk and glanced at the sign in sheet before moving towards the exam room which held Mr Shoemaker and his amazing exploding eyeballs.

Far away in an almost empty library, Faye bent over the book she was reading for class. She had an essay to write and she really wanted to get it finished soon. Chewing the pencil between her teeth thoughtfully the brunette scanned the page quickly and then stopped. Putting the pencil down Faye scanned the words again more slowly and then picking up the book in both hands she read them over again carefully. Then dropping the book back down she turned to a clean page in her notebook and began to scribble furiously. Within minutes she was up off her seat and scanning the bookshelves furiously. Moving as if her life depended on it Faye pulled the books she was looking for into her arms and rushed back to her workstation. Then the new books open in front of her she began scribbling again.

Kaida looked with interest at the body in front of her. Luckily this sort of thing had never bothered her much. This body however was a little unusual. His eyes had completely gone, there was nothing left. It felt vaguely familiar, as if she had heard about something like this before. Not in her lessons with John, but somewhere else. She didn't have much time to ponder it however before she heard voices getting closer. Her brothers had finished their 'conversation' and were back to work. Kaida covered the body with the sheet once again and pressed herself into the shadows and waited.

"Now the newspaper said his daughter found him. Said his eyes were bleeding."

Kaida looked hard at the body from where she was wondering what it was that it reminded her of. Whatever it was the recognition seemed stronger with what Sam had just said. 'His eyes were bleeding'.

"More than that. They practically liquefied."

She was barely listening to them as the technician pulled back the sheet again.

"Any sign of struggle? Maybe somebody did it to him?"

It was a good question but Kaida doubted it was that simple.

"Nope besides the daughter, he was alone."

What was it that was tugging away at her brain?

"What's the official cause of death?"

It felt like a childish memory, childish knowledge, something she had learnt even before she had become a hunter, before she had become a Winchester.

"Ah, Doc's not sure. He's thinking massive stroke, maybe an aneurysm? Something burst up in there, that's for sure."

Sam and Dean were looking intently at the body now. And Kaida knew that they were wishing they could look at it alone. But the technician was not going anywhere.

"What do you mean?"

They had probably bribed him to show them the body, but there was no way he would leave two strangers alone in the morgue, especially as she knew they would have used a medical student cover story to get in the door.

"Intense cerebral bleeding. This guy had more blood in his skull than anyone I've ever seen."

There it was again, the little tingle in the back of her brain. Blood, bleeding, something about all that blood, bloody.

"What would cause something like that?"

Whatever it was, it was out of reach at the moment.

"Capillaries can burst. See a lot of bloodshot eyes with stroke victims."

Kaida let the conversation wash over her as she stayed hidden from view.

"Yeah? You ever see exploding eyeballs?"

"That's a first for me, but hey, I'm not the doctor."

"Hey, think we could take a look at that police report? You know for, uh... our paper."

"I'm not really supposed to show you that."

Back in the library Faye sat back and looked at the pages she had scribbled trying to get her thoughts in order. She had found something. After all these years, she thought she might actually have found a clue to the mystery that was Kaida. But she couldn't call her, not yet. Not until she understood what she had found. Not until she could put the information into some sort of order. Not until she had something solid to give to her. Not until she had something more certain to say than 'I Miss You' so she kept working.

Sam and Dean walked slowly down the stairs discussing the case.

"Might not be one of ours. Might just be some freak medical thing."

Kaida rolled her eyes as she caught up with them.

"How many times in Dad's long and varied career has it actually been a freak medical thing and not some sign of an awful supernatural death?"

The itch was still working away at the back of her brain, but Kaida ignored it for the moment.

"Uh, almost never"

Finally Kaida decided to speak up.

"This isn't medical. Something did this."

The boys stopped for a moment on the stairs so that they could speak to her.

"So nice of you to join us K"

The teasing in Dean's voice made her smile. Of course they had known all along where she had been that she had been watching and listening.

"Do you know what it is?"

Kaida shook her head at Sam's question.

"Not yet. But it is familiar."

They both nodded and together the three descended the stairs.

"All right let's go talk to the daughter."


	28. Lollipops and Candy Canes

Note- Again I have been neglecting my duties to my characters and all I can do is apologise. It seems there is always something that gets in the way of my writing. Unfortunately with work, the wedding, worsening health and the addition of two little kittens to our household something has to give and recently that has been my writing (as well as my home crafting business). All I can do is apologise again and hope that my new medication will help to take some of the strain.

The Weapon

Chapter 28- Lollipops and Candycanes

Kaida pulled at the hem of her dress as the three of them returned to the motel room. She hated dressing up like this, trying to look like a normal girl, but sometimes it was a necessary. She only had the one dress. It was a nondescript black dress that came down below her knees and she hated it. But as they had been sneaking in to the Shoemaker funeral and she would have stood out too much in her usual jeans and t-shirt. As soon as the door was open Kaida pushed passed her brothers and into the bathroom to get changed.

At least she had made the effort, she thought as she came back into the main room glaring at Sam and Dean. They hadn't bothered and of course they had been discovered. Dean could see the annoyance on her face and couldn't help himself from laughing.

"Don't give me that look Kaida. She thinks we are cops investigating the death. Everything is fine. And we got the information that we needed didn't we?"

Kaida huffed as she sat down. She had to concede that one. At least she knew now what had been nagging away at the back of her mind.

_Kaida stood to one side watching the small group of girls closely. The group included Mr Shoemaker's two daughters and Kaida was determined to hear what they were talking about. Maybe there would be some clue as to exactly what, if anything, they had seen that night. But unfortunately there was nothing to overhear as they were all sitting in a somber quiet. That was until Sam and Dean approached._

"_You must be Donna, right?"_

_Kaida took a sip from the glass that she was holding with only half an ear on the conversation. It would take a few moments for her brothers to steer the conversation around to what had happened that night. In the meantime Kaida glanced around the gathering. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary here, nothing obvious anyway, so she turned her attention back to the conversation._

"_That's because it wasn't a stroke."_

_The younger daughter had been silent until that moment. But the guilt had suddenly become to much for her. Kaida listened intently._

"_Lily don't say that."_

_The older daughter chastised her sister, but Lily kept going._

"_No, it happened because of me"_

_The nagging feeling was back, scratching away at the back of Kaida's mind. She wasn't sure what the girl was talking about but somehow it fit._

"_Sweetie, it didn't"_

_The youngest hunter watched as Sam crouched down in front of the little girl so that they were eye to eye._

"_Lily. Why would you say something like that?"_

_Lily bit her lip and Kaida could feel the guilt coming off her in waves._

"_Right before he died, I said it."_

_Suddenly Kaida felt like laughing, suddenly all of the pieces clicked together._

"_You said what?"_

_But she didn't need to hear anymore. Kaida knew what the girl was going to say before she said it._

"_Bloody Mary, three times in the bathroom mirror. She took his eyes, that's what she does."_

Kaida felt a little guilty now. She had insisted on going back to the Motel room to get changed before going to the library. But the library had been a bust and they had been forced to go back to the room once again with nothing to show for their efforts. It felt like they were wasting time. In an attempt to make up for her childish behaviour Kaida had volunteered to get the local papers. Now she was back at the motel with an arm full of papers and coffee to keep them all going. As she pushed open the door she noticed that the curtains were closed and Sam was asleep on the bed. As quietly as she could Kaida joined Dean at the small table in the corner. Raising her eyebrows slightly she asked him wordlessly how the research was going. Huffing out a breath the eldest sibling shook his head, it wasn't going well. Sighing they continued to work while Sam had some much needed rest.

They had both been worried about Sam over the last few weeks. He hadn't slept, constantly making excuses and brushing aside their concerns. But now the exhaustion had finally overtaken him and both Kaida and Dean were determined not to wake him before they needed to. Unfortunately Sam was not destined to sleep long, as not long after Kaida's return he gasped himself awake.

"Why did you let me fall asleep?"

He asked without looking at his siblings across the room.

"Because I'm an awesome brother. So what did you dream about?"

Kaida put the newspaper she was reading back down onto the table and took a sip of her coffee.

"Lollipops and Candy Canes."

Both Kaida and Dean scoffed. There was no way Sam was going to tell them what he had been dreaming about, but they could make a pretty good guess.

"Yeah sure."

Dean said, and for a moment she thought he was going to push for an explanation. But then Sam changed the subject.

"Did you find anything?"

Taking the change reluctantly Dean answered the question.

"Oh besides a whole new level of frustration. No. I've looked at everything. A few local women, a Laura and a Catherine commited suicide in front of a mirror, and a giant mirror fell on a guy named, but uh, no Mary."

Kaida put her coffee down as Sam sat up.

"Maybe we just haven't found it yet.

Dean and Kaida shared a look.

"I've been searching for strange deaths in the area, you know… eyeball bleeding, that sort of thing. There's nothing. Whatever's happening here, maybe it just ain't Mary."

Kaida wasn't convinced at that one, even though it certainly looked that way. Her instincts told her this was Mary, they just had to find it.

"There aren't any developments in the local papers either"

She admitted with a sigh. If this wasn't Mary they were back to square one. But then Sam's phone started to ring and they were jumping into action.


	29. Searching for Answers

Note- As it is the season I thought I would share with you all my New Years Resolution. We will see how long it lasts but I am determined to write at least one chapter of Fanfic and one of Original Fiction a week. Now I know that is not much, and I have quite a few fics of both kinds going at the moment, but it is more than I have been managing over the last few months. PT

The Weapon

Chapter 29- Searching for Answers

As Kaida pulled herself through the window into the dead girls room she thought back on how she had found herself there. It had started with that phone call, the one to Sam's phone. It had been the girl Charlie, the one that had caught Sam and Dean sneaking around in the Shoemaker's house. It seems someone else had died at the hands of Bloody Mary. Jill had been messing around and had called the spirit, leaving behind a corpse in the same state as the one that had brought them here.

"What did you tell Jill's mum?"

Sam asked as the other two took stock of the room they were standing in.

"Just that I needed some time alone with Jill's pictures and things. I hate lying to her."

Kaida forced herself not to comment on what the girl had said. Lying was such an everyday part of their lives, but not for this girl. Kaida didn't think she had ever lived like that. Maybe before her mother had died, but that hadn't exactly gone well.

"Trust us, this is for the greater good. Hit the lights."

Dean said pulling the curtains closed.

"What are you guys looking for?"

Charlie had done what she was asked, but was now back to asking questions.

"We'll let you know as soon as we find it."

Dean said distractedly as Sam turned the digital camera on.

"Night Vision?"

Sam asked simply, not having used the camera before. With practiced movements Dean changed the settings on the camera and then stepped away again grinning as Sam checked the image on the screen.

"Do I look like Paris Hilton?"

He asked causing Kaida to swot at him.

"Get on with it"

She said pushing past him to have a look around. Sam was already checking out the mirror in the wardrobe and ignoring Dean's question for shop talk.

"So I don't get it. I mean… the first victim didn't summon Mary, and the second victim did. How's she choosing them?"

Dean shrugged.

"Beats me"

Closing the wardrobe door Sam moved through to the bathroom.

"I want to know why Jill said it in the first place."

Dean asked directing his question at Charlie who shrugged guiltily.

"It was just a joke."

Dean scoffed.

"Yeah well somebody's gonna say it again, it's just a matter of time."

Meanwhile Sam had found something in the bathroom and came back through carrying the mirror.

"Hey. There's a black light in the trunk, right?"

Nodding Kaida slipped back through the window to return moments later with the black light in her hand. Taking it from her, so that she could climb over the sill, Dean through it to his brother. Sam then removed the mirrors backing and shone the light across the surface, revealing a name. Well now they were getting somewhere, they just had to find out who Gary Brymen was.

Faye sat on the bed in her dorm room going through the hand-written sheets beside her. She had spent what felt like days copying down all of the information she could find, although in reality it had only been a few hours. She was getting closer, so much closer to the answer. But although what she had read, and what she had written, made sense, she wasn't sure that she actually understood what it. Or to be truthful, she wasn't sure what it meant for Kaida, or for her.

Faye picked up her phone from where it sat on the bedside table and looked at it for a moment. Should she call Kaida? She had information, but was that enough? Should she once again to get it into some sort of order? She read it over to come to some sort of conclusion? Or should she just hand it all over to Kaida and her brothers? They were better placed to understand it after all. Once more, she decided. She would try one last time to go through it all and determine what she could from it. Then if she still didn't understand she would admit defeat. Then she would call Kaida and give her all the information that she could.

As she sat waiting for Sam with Dean and Charlie, Kaida took her phone out of her pocket and looked at it. She didn't know why she had done it. It was as if she were waiting for it to ring. More and more she had been looking at that screen expecting to see a message or a missed call, but nothing. Maybe it was because she had been thinking more and more about Faye in the last few weeks. More and more she had scrolled through the few numbers saved into the memory to her number only to put it away again. Seeing that Sam was on his way back to them she stuffed the phone back into her pocket and tried to pretend she hadn't taken it out in the first place. They had work to do.


	30. Complete 180

The Weapon

Chapter 30- Complete 180.

The Winchesters were back in the motel room once again. They had found a few answers, but there were still some big questions. They knew that what they were dealing with was the 'Bloody Mary' legend. And they knew that both victims had been involved in deaths. They also knew that Mary had written the names of those same deaths on the back of the mirrors that she had used to reach her victims. They also knew that in each case Mary had been called by either the victim themselves or by someone else in the household. But they still couldn't find any reason for it. They had found a death that fit the bill. A woman named Mary who had been murdered in front of a mirror, and her eyes had been cut out. But that had happened in Indiana.

So they had made the journey to see the detective who had been in charge of the case and there they had found some more answers. The mirror that Mary had died in front of, had been returned to the family. And Eventually Mary's brother had sold it to an antiques store in town. That was how Mary had turned up here in time to kill Mr Shoemaker and Jill. Now though they had another problem. The girl Charlie was now seeing Mary whenever she looked. She had been in the room when Donna Shoemaker had called Mary to prove that the spirit did not exist, and now Mary was after Charlie.

So sitting with her face in her hands, while the hunters moved through the rented room removing anything that had a reflection. It took a while but eventually they were done. As one the three hunters moved towards the bed where Charlie put his hand on the girls shoulder bringing her back to the present.

"Now listen. You're gonna stay right here on this bed, and you're not gonna look at glass, or anything else that has a reflection, okay? And as long as you do that, she can't get you."

Reluctantly Charlie looked up. No matter what Sam had said she was terrified.

"But I cant keep that up forever. I'm gonna die, aren't ?"

Sam shook his head. And although we still didnt know how they were going to stop Mary, he did his best to reasure her.

"No. No. Not anytime soon."

Having enough and waning to get back to the case as quickly as possible Dean sat down on the bed beside Charlie.

"All right Charlie. We need to know what happened."

Sitting up a little straighter the girl wiped her eyes and started to tell them what had happened that afternoon.

"We were in the bathroom. Donna said it..."

But Dean stoppd her before she could get any furher.

"That's not what I meant. Something happebned, didn't it? In your life... A secret... Where someone got hurt. Can you tell us about it?"

She looked shocked for a moment. Not as if she had not expected the question, but at the idea that she might actually answer it. They could all see that the memory was not a happy one.

"I had this boyfriend. I loved him. But he kind of scared me too, you know? And one night, at his house, we got in this fight. Then I broke up with him, and he got upset, and he said he needed me and he loved me, and he said "Charlie, if you walk out that door right now, I'm gonna kill myself." And you know what I said? I said "Go ahead." And I left. How could I say that? How could I leave him like that? I just...I didn't believe him, you know? I should have..."

Then she was crying again and the three hunters shared a look. one of them would have to stay with the girl while the other two did what they could to stop Mary. Without saying a word the three of them retreated to the bathroom to talk.

Faye dumped her rucksack in the corner with a sigh. She had had classes all day and so had not had as much time as she would have liked to go over the notes she had made for Kaida But she had come to a decision about that. She had decided that she couldn't wait any longer. She had to tell her something. Maybe Kaida would be able to understand what she had if she asked her to come and have a look at the information that she had collcted she would, and then she would get to see her again. Knowing that it was not always possible for the hunter to answer her phone, Faye found the number and sent a short text message. Now all she could do was wait for a reply.

Kaida stood defiently as she glared at Dean. She wasn't going to stand for it, no not this time! They had decided to go and see the mirror. To break into the antiques shop and smash it. And yet again they needed someone to stay behind and babysit, but she wasn't going to do it this time. Sam and Dean watched her fold her arms across her chest as she glared, trying not to laugh at the expresion on her face. They could that she was trying to formulate an excuse, a reason for one of them to stay behind. But then they heard the beep.

Confusion lining her brow, the youngest hunter pulled the phone out of her pocket and glanced at it. Then her expression changed, her whole stance changed she did a complete 180.

"I'll stay here and watch the Charlie girl"

With that she turned and walked away, leaving her brothers in complete confusion. Once she was back in the bedroom she looked at the phone again.

'K, Call me when you have a chance. Faye X'

That was all it was, that was all that she had said. But it had been enough to make Kaida completely change her mind.


	31. Since When?

Note- Hi guys, I have been having a bit of a brain fog trying to get these next few chapters done. I have however been making notes for later on (up to series 5 so far). And i was wondering which you guys would prefer. Would you like me to fight through these chapters and leave season 2 etc for the future. Or post what I have for season 2 in a new story The Weapon part two, so to speak, for people to read while i try and get this story right? Please let me know through the reviews, or through PM. In the meantime here is Chapter 31 for your enjoyment.

Originally this chapter was going to be Kaida and Faye talking, but as it turned out Dean wanted to give his side of what happened when the two of them drifted apart.

The Weapon

Chapter 31- Since When?

Dean tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove away from the motel. He couldn't believe it, he actually couldn't believe it. Since when did Kaida give up so easily, since when did Kaida volunteer for babysitting duty. Yes he and Sam had wanted her to stay behind, they had wanted someone to look out for Charlie and at first it had all gone as normal. Kaida had been arguing her point, but then she had changed her mind, she had just given up and agreed to stay behind, all because of a text.

"Dean stop worrying. You know as well as I do who that text was from. Only one person can make Kaida change her mind like that."

Dean scoffed.

"Yeah, but what does she want?"

Sam looked confused for a moment, as if he and Dean were talking about different people. Dean glanced at him before bringing his attention back to the road. He forgot sometimes that Sam had been away for so long. He forgot that Sam hadn't seen how Kaida was after Faye left her.

_Dean looked at his watch one last time before looking over at his father. Kaida was late. It wasn't like her, especially when they had a job to do. For the first time in years Dean began to wonder if something had happened to his little sister. There wasn't much that could hurt Kaida, like at all, let alone cause her serious damage. The last time had been a few years ago at the hands of her father, but that was under special circumstances. Besides, if she was hurt she would have called. John huffed impatiently as he too looked at his watch._

_"Dean, I'm going to the library. If you find Kaida, let her know I want to speak to her"_

_Dean flinched as his father slammed the car door. Wherever his sister was, she was in for a hard time when she finally turned up. Pulling the phone out of his pocket for what seemed like the tenth time that day he pushed call and listened to ringing with no answer. _

_"Dammit!"_

_Knowing he couldn't just sit there waiting, Dean strode over to a nearby phone box and threw open the phone directory. Kaida had been working a job only a couple of towns over when they had agreed to meet. That had been two days ago. She had agreed to finish up as quickly as she could and make her way here. Then last night she had text them to let them know that she was in town. She must have gotten a room nearby, and from the phone book Dean could see that there was only one motel in town._

_Kaida didn't even open her eyes as Dean pushed the door open. That in itself had been difficult due to the collection of empty bottles littering the floor in front of the door, but he barely noticed them. Seeing her lying there and not moving Dean rushed over to her side._

_"K! Kaida! Are you alright!"_

_Kaida groaned burying her head further into the pillow under her head._

_"Quit shouting Dean, my head hurts."_

_She sat up slowly dropping the whisky bottle in her hands onto the floor._

_"You called her again, didn't you?"_

_Dean asked, suddenly was she doing this to herself? Why was she setting herself up for disappointment again and again._

_"You have to stop this K. You have to stop calling. When was the last time she called you back, huh? You have to stop doing this to yourself."_

_She nodded scrunching her eyes shut against the tears, but Dean knew that it would happen again. He knew that Faye was the one thing that Kaida would never give up on, and somehow he would have to pick up the pices of his little sister again and again._

Sam sat in silence for a moment after Dean stopped talking. He couldn't believe it. Since when did Kaida drink herself into Oblivion, the odd beer sure, but not this. And since when did Kaida blow off a job, sure she had drunk herself to sleep the night before, but Hunting was her life The answer though was all to obvious. Since Faye. Faye changed everything, she always did. Faye had given Kaida something else to live for besides the family business and looking after her brothers It had been Faye that had forced Kaida to stay in the hospital after that time she had nearly died, it had been Faye that had onvinced Kaida to let him go when he had left and he assumed it had been Faye that had comforted her after he had left. But then Faye had left as well and now Faye had been the one to text Kaida back in the motel room. Faye had been the one to bring Kaida's world crashing own around her and because he had left, Sam had missed it all.

"What do you think she wants?"

Sam asked eventully, but Dean shrugged.

"Who cares, whatever it is, it's going to mean trouble. At first it was all fine. I mean we've always travelled around and Kaida would always find a way to get back to see Faye when she could, even while she was at college. But it wasn't the same. K hated that place, and Faye was living her own life. Eventually Faye stopped calling and Kaida was a mess She was drinking more and more, getting worse and worse. Dad would yell at her, and she would take it and apologise, promise not to do it again, but we all knew what would happen. Then it stopped. I don't really know what happened, Dad sent me to go and pick up something for him a couple of states over while he talked to her. And that was the end of it. I don't know what has Faye suddenly picking up the phone, but I'm nt sure that K can take anymore."


	32. Deep Breath

Note- here it is another chapter. As I said before I have been having trouble with this section. I think it is the whole reveal thing. I have always known where Kaida was headed and the explanation for what she can do. I am just having trouble getting the wording fight for the Faye's research. Also my tablet has no spell check so let me know if you see any errors as I am useless at proofreading my own stuff.

The Weapon

Chapter 32- Deep Breath

Kaida sat with Charlie for a while after her brother's left trying to get up the courage to call Faye. Yes she had been looking for an excuse to call her ever since John had left, but at that moment she didn't know if she could actually do it. Why did Faye want her to call now? Why now, why? Then Kaida's eyes widened. What if she was in trouble? What if there was something wrong? Kaida glanced over at the girl she was supposed to be looking after and realised she was being watched.

"Is something wrong?"

Charlie asked and Kaida realised that she hadn't said anything since Sam and Dean had left.

"No, no, nothings wrong"

Kaida answered really hoping that it was true. The girl however obviously didn't believe her as she continued to look at her curiously

"You have been looking at your phone for a while now. If you need to make a call, I don't mind."

The hunter sighed. She wasn't going to figure it out sitting here looking at her phone. If she wanted to find out why Faye had contacted her, she would have to give her a call. Taking one last look at the girl beside her to make sure that she was alright, Kaida stood running a hand through her hair.

"I won't be long. And I will be just outside the door if you need anything."

Charlie smiled and nodded, and Kaida walked to the door with her mobile in her hand.

"Kaida?"

The hunter forgot how to breathe as she heard her name spoken on the other end of the line. Faye had obviously been waiting for her to call as it had only rung once before she had picked up. Unfortunately that meant that Kaida hadn't had much time to prepare before hearing that voice.

"Sparky? Is that you."

Taking another deep breath Kaida tried not to sound worried as she replied.

"Hi babe. It's good to hear your voice."

Luckily Faye seemed just as nervous, which helped Kaida to stay calm.

"yeah, you to. Listen Sparky there is something we need to talk about. Where are you."

Kaida's mind began to race. What could be so important?

"We're in Toledo. What's wrong?"

She could practically hear Faye biting her lip which made her smile despite her worry.

"I think... I think I found something Kaida. About you and what you can do. But I'm not sure. How soon could you get here?"

What? Kaida stopped breathing, the small smile slipping completely away.

"I... I..."

She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. What had she found?

"it's alright sparky. I promise it's nothing bad. I just think you need to see it for yourself."

Kaida closed her eyes and swallowed nervously.

"I'll come Faye."

Then she sighed out a breath before continuing.

"I just, I need to speak to the guys first. We are in the middle of a case, and..."

She was babbling, she knew that but she couldn't stop.

"Kaida, it's alright. I get it. I just... I really think I found something."

The hunter knew that it was ridiculous, this fear that was growing inside her. It was the perfect time really. They were in the same state for once, and Faye claimed that it wasn't bad news. Besides she had been craving the sight of the other girl for so long. But there was so much about seeing Faye that Kaida wasn't sure that she could deal with at the moment.

"I'll see what I can do Faye. I'll call you later."

She said eventually before hanging up the phone and putting it back into her pocket. Then she went back to join Charlie as calmly as she could. Unfortunately the girl wasn't so easily fooled and caught Kaida's mood instantly.

"is everything alright?"

She asked, standing from where she had been curled up on the bed. Kaida sighed again running a hand through her hair. No she wasn't alright. Things weren't alright and hadn't been for a long time.

"That was... It was... It's complicated. "

She said and Charlie raised an eyebrow, before sitting back down tapping the space beside her on the bed.

"we've got time."

_Kaida kept her head down as she walked through the library. It was busier than she liked it to be, but all of the teachers seemed to be on a homework kick at the moment and she needed a book so that she and Sam could finish their homework. As quickly as she could she scanned the shelves until she found what she was looking for. Then Kaida reached up to pluck it from the shelf. As she did so she tried her best to fade into the background. She hated crowds, and wanted to get back home as quickly as possible._

_There was however one unfortunate disadvantage to almost invisibility, and that was that sometimes people ran straight into you. Kaida however couldn't bring her self to mind when she saw exactly who had knocked her to the ground. She hadn't been in town long, and had only just started classes, but as soon as she and Sam had walked into their first class at their latest school she had seen her. Faye Davis had been sitting looking out of the window and Kaida hadn't been able to keep her eyes off of her._

_"I'm so sorry, Kaida isn't it."_

_The brunette said as she stood and offered the hunter a hand up._

_"Yeah, thanks"_

_Kaida replied taking the hand gladly although it left her reluctant to let go as Faye smiled at her. That was the moment that everything changed for Kaida Winchester. That was the moment that she was lost._

_It was a couple of weeks later that Kaida realised just how screwed she was. Faye and her had gotten a lot closer in such a short period of time, so much so that Sam didn't even comment anymore when his sister ate lunch with the other girl instead of him, or when Faye invited her to her parents cafe after school. That was where she was at the moment, sitting across from this incredible girl while they drank their milkshakes in comfortable silence._

_John had left after setting the three of them up in the house that he had rented. He claimed that he had an urgent hunt, but Kaida knew better. He had left instructions with Dean to lock the house up tight, to make it as easy to defend as they could while he was away. Kaida knew that John was trying to lead her father away from them if he could, to buy them all enough time to get prepared for the day that Kaida's nightmare came true._

_But at that moment Kaida didn't care about any of that. With John gone her brothers encouraged her to spend time with Faye, to have this small slice of a normal life. The other girl smiled at her with those large chocolate eyes looking at her over the rim of the oversized glass and Kaida felt her heart rate pick up. Her fingertips tingled with energy that she couldn't stop. Her milkshake began to freeze around the edges before she pulled her power back. She was so screwed._

_The first time they kissed Kaida nearly had a heart attack. They were sitting on the steps outside of the house she and her brothers rented when it happened. They had been laughing about something that had happened that day at school when suddenly Kaida had stopped simply smiling at seeing Faye so happy. When the other girl had stopped to look at her quizzically Kaida had leant in and kissed her, just once before she pulled back. But Faye wasn't going to let her away with that. Grabbing her head she pulled the hunter in for a longer less chaste kiss and Kaida couldn't help the energy flowing through her. She gripped the step beside her with one hand while the other rested loosely on Faye's lap._

_A sharp gasp brought Kaida to her senses when she realised that the hand on Faye's lap had frosted over. Her eyes going wide she stuttered out an apology and ran inside leaving Faye to stare in confusion at the scorched mark where Kaida's other hand had been._

_It hadn't taken Dean long to figure out what was wrong with his little sister. And the next day while Sam distracted her with a trip to the local library for some revision he had gone to see Faye. He never told Kaida what he had said that day, but he had arrived back at the house that night with the other girl in tow and forced Kaida to give a demonstration of what she could do. From that day on she had been 'Sparky' to Faye and Kaida had liked that._

_When Kaida had woken up at the hospital after finally beating her fear of her father, she and Faye had been together nearly a year, and those chocolate eyes were the first thing she saw when she opened her own. Within another year Sam was gone and they were moving on again. But between cases Kaida would visit as often as she could. Then finally the time came, the day that Kaida had been dreading for the last three years arrived. The day that Faye left to find her real life, and Kaida promised herself that she would let her go._


	33. Too close

Note- As I said before I have started writing part 2 which takes place in series 2. If you want me to upload it now rather than later let me know. The same goes for part 3 and 4. Part 5 has not yet been started. Yeah I know I can't write time in a straight line, my brain is weird.

The Weapon

Chapter 33- Too close

Kaida watched as the Impala pulled away from the curb before she turned her attention to the buildings around her. She couldn't believe that she was actually here. In all the years since Faye had left for college she had never once stepped foot on the girls campus, not once. She had promised herself that she wouldn't, and she had promised John. But John wasn't here, and Faye had answers. Looking around at the names on the buildings around her, Kaida headed for Faye's dorm room.

Suddenly she stopped as she passed one of the buildings. She had the sudden feeling that she was being watched. Kaida glanced around, but she couldn't see anyone. It was late and there was noone around. It was a strange feeling, like nothing she had ever sensed before. Unfortnately she didn't have the time to ponder the feeling. Making a mental note of where she was so she could look around some more later, she continued walking away from the sign that said 'Crawford Hall'.

Nearby a man watched her walk away with a sigh. This put a damper on his plans. He had wanted to have a little fun, but now he couldn't, not with something like her here. He would have to change his plans. He had known what she was as soon as she stepped out of the car. And yes, it seemed as if she wasn't up to full strength, hell maybe she didn't even know what she was. But even if that was the case, he couldn't take the chance. He had come across her kind before, although it had been a long time ago. They were rare, very rare these days, and they were dangerous. She would be able to tell that he wasn't human, and that was worrying enough. Sighing again he popped a boiled candy into his mouth. Yup he would have to change his plans, and move on. He could always come back later and have some fun.

When Kaida reached the dorm building she pulled out her phone to check the room number that Faye had text her. Knowing that she couldn't put it off any longer she opened the door and made her way to Faye's room. But when she got to the door she hesitated again.

_Kaida didn't look up when the door opened. It was probably only Dean come to get her again and she had bigger things to worry about. The massive hangover she had woken up to was first on her list. When the lights went on she groaned and tried to bury her head further into the pillow._

_"Kaida?"_

_The voice was quiet but it made her jump anyway. John had that effect on her, especially like this. When John Winchester was angry he yelled, when he was disappointed and angry he was quiet. Suddenly Kaida was sitting up against the headboard, but he wasn't looking at her. Instead John was sitting on the bed his head in his hands facing back towards the door._

_"Sir?"_

_Kaida was sober instantly despite the ridiculous amount of alcohol she had consumed the night before. She didn't know what to think at that moment, but she knew that she was in trouble. Usually Dean would be sent to get her if she was late. It didn't happen very often, and her brother had more patience than his father did. _

_"This has to stop Kaida."_

_He still wasn't looking at her and somehow that made it worse._

_"This has to stop."_

And that was when she had actually stopped calling. She had told herself long before that she would stop, but it wasn't until then that she actually had. She couldn't face the disappointment in his voice, the way that he wouldn't look at her. She had promised that she wouldn't do this, she wouldn't come here. But John wasn't here, John hadn't been around in a long time, and Faye had information. That was when Kaida knocked on the door.

Faye had been pacing back and forward when she heard it. Her heart stopped for a moment before she thought to answer it. It had been a long time, a very long time and suddenly she wasn't sure if she could do this. This whole time Faye had been concentrating on the information that she had found and not the woman waiting on the other side of the door. But there was really one thing that she could do. Faye opened the door.

Kaida couldn't help but smile as the door opened and Faye stepped aside to let her in. They were both as nervous as each other which actually helped them both. Faye ran her fingers through her hair anxiously while Kaida tried as hard as she could not to disappear into the shadows.

"Would you like something to drink?"

Kaida nodded gratefully as Faye handed her a beer. She took a long gulp to settle herself before getting right to business.

"So what did you find?"

Dean tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. They still had a long way to go and he was glad of that. Driving helped him to clear his mind and to calm down and he really needed that right now. He knew that it was ridiculous to worry about Kaida. She was perfectly capable of looking after herself, and she wasn't even on a hunt. That was why he was worrying so much he supposed. Kaida was more than a match for any creature he could name, but this was different. He knew that the last thing that Faye wanted to do was hurt his sister, but she was the only one capable of doing just that.

Kaida had been vague on the details, but she had said enough. Faye had found something, had discovered something about Kaida and that made him worry. They had all been tempted at one time or another to look into what she could do. But Kaida had always insisted that she didn't want to know. Dean knew why that was and the thought made him curse her dead father under his breath. Kaida didn't want to know who she was because she was afraid that her father had been right, that she was a monster. Both Sam and Dean had always insisted that there was no way that that could be true. But in truth none of them really knew where Kaida's powers came from. He just hoped that whatever Faye found was good news.

Kaida looked between Faye and the pile of notes on her desk. She had no idea where to start and it was very late. She knew that Faye had classes in the morning and she didn't want to get in the way, but now that she was here she didn't think she could wait to find out what the research said.

"Can I take some of this back to the motel with me?"

She asked finally picking up the first sheet and glancing at the neat hand written notes she scanned the first sentence.

_**Successive generations retained the ability to produce and control both fire and ice.**_

Kaida looked back at Faye and noticed that she was chewing her bottom lip in worry.

"You don't need to stay at a motel."

The hunter sighed dropping the page she held back onto the pile.

"Yeah I do Faye. I... I can't stay here. I just can't. I'll take this to the motel with me and start going through it. We can meet up tomorrow and talk it through."

It was better this way, she reminded herself. Better to keep this professional. They had too much influence over each other. She had to keep her distance before they hurt each other again.


	34. Under my skin

Note- If anyone is wondering, yes Kaida is just like anyone else and procrastinates when she doesn't really want to do something. Which considering I am supposed to be spending all of my free time looking for a job, I can't really point fingers.

The Weapon

Chapter 34- Under my skin

Kaida collapsed onto the lumpy motel mattress and tried to remember why she had suggested staying there in the first place. Taking the phone out of her pocket she glanced at the screen for a moment debating whether to call Faye and take her up on her offer anyway. But she didn't. Instead she scrolled through the numbers and pressed call.

"This is John Winchester. I can't be reached. If this an emergency, call my son, Dean..."

Kaida hung up before the beep of the voicemail and threw the phone down onto the bedside table with a groan. She thought about calling one of her brothers, but decided against it. She had heard more than enough from them on the subject that morning when she had suggested going to see Faye in the first place.

_They had stopped for something to eat after dropping the girl Charlie off at her house when she brought it up. Sam was quiet which she expected. He hadn't been around for any of the drama after Faye had gone to college. Dean on the other hand was furious. _

_"Do you not remember what happened Kaida, because I do. I remember every single damn time she didn't answer the phone when you called her. I remember every single time I had to come and get you because you had drunk yourself into oblivion."_

_Kaida closed her eyes. She tried not to remember those times, pushed them from her mind._

_"But she has information Dean. She found something on me, something on what I can do. I have to go."_

The hunter gritted her teeth at the memory. It had gone on for over an hour like that. Back and forth between the two of them while Sam sat in the middle confused. Again she looked at her phone debating whether to call Faye. What she really wanted was a drink, a really big drink. But then she heard John's voice in her head.

_"Mary and I grew up in the same town. She was incredible, and some days I still can't believe that she agreed to marry me. When she died my entire world came tumbling down. I was a mess. I still am a mess. She was my everything. I've been there Kaida and I can tell you that the answer isn't at the bottom of a bottle, because I've looked."_

Groaning again at the memory Kaida stood up and retrieved the notes from her bag. She had to start on the research. At least it would give her something else to concentrate on. It only took a few hours however before exhaustion and stress took over and Kaida was asleep.

_Kaida knew she was dreaming but it felt familiar. She was standing on a mountain top, there were trees further down the slope but where she stood there was nothing but bare snow covered rock. The air smelt crisp and fresh in the moonlight. There was a slight breeze and Kaida closed her eyes to relish the feeling of it on her face and through her hair. It felt so freeing, the wind in her hair, and on her wings. She opened her eyes slowly at that thought. Wings, since when did she have wings. _

_Flexing the muscles in her back experimentaly Kaida got used to the feel of her new limbs. It was strange how right it felt to have them there protruding from between her shoulder blades, how easy they were to control. It was difficult to see in the dark but they were large and leather like, the wingspan large enough that she could wrap them around herself. Pulling them forward she ran her hands along the pitch-black skin until she reached the talons at the end._

_It all felt so familiar, and so right. Like she had been here before, and she knew what was coming next. Stretching the wings back out behind her she flapped them sharply and took off into the cool night air. It felt even better actually soaring through the night sky. _

When Kaida woke up the next morning she actually had to take a moment to remember that it had all been a dream. Stepping out of the shower she looked at her back in the mirror but she didn't look any different. Laughing at her own stupidity Kaida got ready to meet Faye for their study session. She hadn't managed to get through much on her own the night before, being too distracted to concentrate, but now she was determined. She was a professional and she could see Faye and understand the research at the same time. She had to.

Faye tried to concentrate on her morning classes, but it was difficult to keep her focus. It had been incredible seeing Kaida the night before, even if it hadn't been for very long. She really had missed her and she felt guilty for how awkward things were between them. She knew the reason that Kaida had stopped calling, knew that she had missed more than a few calls with her busy schedule. But she couldn't help that. She appreciated why the hunter wanted to keep things professional, and why she had insisted on staying in a motel, but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. They had been so close once upon a time, and now they were practically strangers. They had hardly spoken to each other last night, but Faye could see that there was something wrong. She had always been able to tell when there was something on Kaida's mind, when she was worrying about something, and last night that had definitely been the case.

Dean sighed as he got back into the car. It was inevitable that he would give in to his brother, he always did, but that didn't mean he had to like it. They had been on their way to a hunt in Arizona and then suddenly their plans had changed because one of Sam's college friends was in trouble. Knowing that Kaida would want to meet up with them when she was finished in Ohio, he sent her a quick text before pulling out of the gas station.

Kaida sat at a table in the library while she waited for Faye to get out of class. She had gotten the papers out of her bag and spread them out in front of her but hadn't gotten very far through them when her phone beeped. Curiously she pulled it out of her pocket and checked her messages.

**Change of plan. Heading to St Louis. Probably nothing. -Dean**

Her brow furrowing slightly Kaida glanced around the mostly empty library. There was a line of computers nearby. It wouldn't hurt to have a quick look, to ease her mind. Pushing the papers back into her bag she sat down at one of the computers and started looking for unusual activity in St Louis.

That was how Faye found her an hour later, bent towards the screen with a notebook by her side, flicking through news stories online. Kaida looked totaly engrossed in what she was doing so Faye took a moment to just look at the girl in front of her. The nervousness was gone and there was a look of absolute concentration there instead. She was much more like the Kaida that she remembered. It wasn't often that Faye saw her in full on hunting mode, as Kaida had tried to keep her away from the grisly details, but she had seen it. Nothing else mattered to the hunter in those moments, which was why then, with the light from the screen iluminating her face Faye finally saw what Kaida had been hiding from her the night before.

Slowly the brunette crept closer. She tried to be as quiet as she could, hoping to get a better look at the mark on Kaida's face without her realising, but the hunter was too good at her job. As soon as Faye put a step forward, Kaida's senses picked up on it and she spun around to see who it was. Faye could see her face clearly now and her shock must have been obvious, because Kaida tilted her head down to hide the right side of her face as best she could as she shrunk back.

"Kaida? What happened?"

Faye asked the question softly, but she heard it. And even though she didn't want to talk about it Kaida did. Shutting the computer down and moving back to the table she knew that she would have to get it off her chest. As calmly as she could she told Faye everything, everthing that had happened since she and Dean had gone to get Sam from college. As she talked she wished that she could just disappear, that she didn't need to stay and figure out her big secret, that she didn't need to be apart from her brothers while they fought some creature they hadn't yet identified. Even though for weeks she had wished that she could talk to someone, that she knew for sure what she was, now that she was here she just wanted to run. And the entire time her back itched between her shoulder blades exactly where the wings had been in her dream.

For two hours Faye listened as Kaida talked. She tried to keep quiet, to keep her reactions to a minimum, knowing that it was best for her to get it all out in one go. But it was difficult. The idea of something stronger than Kaida worried her, but not as much as the doubts that she had been having. There was no way that Kaida could be evil. She was her brother's salvation not their damnation, Their protector. She had known that all along, but the research she had done cemented that in her mind. Especially when she noticed that even though the hunter was sitting in front of her it was becoming more and more difficult to see her and to remember that she was there. Faye knew that it was because Kaida was wishing that she could disappear, and that made her even more sure about what she had found.

When Kaida finished speaking Faye handed her the pile of papers they had been ignoring. She needed to know what it said and she needed to know it now.


	35. Gods and Monsters

Note- And finally we get to some sort of explanation. Not everything, because they still have some research to do. But finally we will know what Faye knows.

The Weapon

Chapter 35- Gods and Monsters

Kaida looked blankly at the papers for a moment, before directing a questioning gaze at Faye. Faye however didn't say anything and simply tapped the pages in encouragement. Looking down at the handwritten pages she saw the words she had read before.

**Successive generations retained the ability to produce and control both fire and ice.**

That must have been what had caught Faye's attention in the first place. The sentence was on it's own written at the top of the page. Then there was a space before she had written notes obviously taken from earlier in the article that she had been reading.

**Oriental dragons are known as shapeshifters, which allows them to adopt innumerable guises including human form. Indeed many human lineages actually claim descent from dragons. There are stories which claim that the dragon kings, specifically the human bodied fire dragon, the Lung Wang Ao Chin took human form to breed and produce offspring which could walk among the mortals. Like Ao Chin himself successive generations retained the ability...**

Kaida stopped reading and looked up at Faye again. She couldn't be serious. Was she actually suggesting that she was the descendant of a dragon. Faye tapped the page again indicating that she should read on.

**There are other cases of dragon descendants known as the nine children of dragons which are named below.**

Then there was another space.

**Taotie- One of the nine children of dragons who loves to eat and is often depicted on food containers.**

Kaida couldn't help it, she laughed at that. She did like her food and she was always hungry.

"Taotie?"

Faye asked smiling.

"Taotie."

She confirmed before she continued to read.

**It is without a doubt that the oriental dragons have a complex mythological and symbolic status. They represent high spiritual power and are emblematic of the representation of such power on earth. Many pictures of oriental dragons show a flaming stone under their chin. The stone is associated with wealth, good luck and prosterity. Later it became a symbol of the link between the dragon descendant and their ancestors. **

Kaida ran her pendant between her fingers. It had been her mother's and had become a symbol of who she was, the gifts that she had inherited from her. But it couldn't be true. It couldn't. She kept reading.

**Dragons can be very small or enormous and can make themselves invisile at will.**

Kaida ran a hand acros her face as she tried to make sense of what she had read so far. With every word memories came flooding back to her, little things over the years building up and connecting with what Faye had found. She couldn't believe it, but it was right there in front of her.

**Though they are powerful creatures capable of doing great harm, dragons are generally portrayed as protectors. In fact many people still worship dragons as deities.**

She was starting to get dizzy, it was too much, far too much all at once. But she couldn't stop.

**Oriental dragons are occasionally depicted with bat-like wings, although this is rare.**

The itching between Kaida's shoulder blades had been increasing steadily as she read and now it was intolerable. There was a hot burning pain as if something was trying to break through the skin. Her breathing and her heart-rate picked up. She was hyperventilating and her vision was clouding over.

"Faye. I..."

Then she was out cold.

Dean sat down heavily on the bed and glared at his brother. He couldn't believe that he had managed to convince him to come here for a probably nonexistent case. Sure there were a couple of interesting points, the dog and the weird camera flare, but that was it. Regardless of what he thought Sam was already researching what little they had on his laptop. The ringing of a phone brought Dean out of his thoughts and had Sam pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Hi K, what's up?"

Sam's brow furrowed as he listened causing Dean to move closer in an attempt to figure out what was going on.

"Wait wait. Slow down. Now say that again. What exactly is the problem."

Dean moved closer still. Sam sounded calm, but apparently Kaida didn't. But that didn't make any sense. Kaida was a hunter and a damn good one. Usually if she was freaking out there was a reason to freak out. The alternative though was that someone else was using Kaida's phone.

"OK, how long ago was that. And she woke up not long after that. Did she say anything before she fell asleep? I think it was probably just a lot to take in. Just keep an eye on her and call us if anything changes. It's alright Faye, you did the right thing. Call me as soon as she wakes up."

Faye?! Dean grabbed the phone off of his brother.

"You've got some nerve calling us Faye Davis. What the fuck did you do this time?"

He knew he was unjustifiably angry, and Kaida could take care of herself most of the time. But from Sam's side of the conversation it had sounded as if whoever he was talking about had passed out. And Faye on Kaida's phone meant that that person was probably their sister.

"I didn't do shit Dean! Like I just explained to Sam. Kaida was reading over some of the stuff I found when she started hyperventilating and she passed out. When she woke up she was a little disorientated. she said she had a headache and I drove her back to the motel. She fell asleep as soon as I got her into the room. I called because she hasn't eaten anything since lunch which I'm sure is still considered fucking weird for Kaida!"

Faye didn't wait for Dean to reply before she ended the call. That was why she had called Sam in the first place. Sam was the more rational of the two when it came to their sister. Dean was overprotective and tended to overreact when it came to family. She glanced at Kaida sleeping in the motel bed that looked too big for her. She looked so peaceful, so calm. It had scared Faye so much to see the hunter panicking the way that she had in the library. It was so unlike her. Resigning herself to the fact that she wouldn't get any sleep that night Faye sat across from Kaida to watch over her.


	36. Dragons

Note- A little more research here guys then Kaida can start coming to terms with it all. I have posted the first chapters of parts 2-4, so if you want some little teasers have a look.

The Weapon

Chapter 36- Dragons

When Kaida opened her eyes again, the first thing she did was move the muscles on her back. She had been having that dream again, the one where she had wings, the one where she was flying. Of course the wings were no longer there, but the itching was back. The second thing she did was glance around the room. On any other day that would have been her first action, but this wasn't any other day. It was starting to get light out, which meant that she had slept through the night. That wasn't normal for her. Normally she would only actually sleep for a couple of hours, and she would wake at any little noise.

That was why she hadn't noticed Faye sitting across from her when she hsd first woken up. She was rubbing her face as if she had just woken, but she also looked exhausted. It was as if she had been forcing herself to stay awake as long as possible to watch over Kaida. She must have been really worried.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Kaida asked, trying to ignore the wave of affection and nostalgia that washed over her from seeing Faye first thing in the morning. Which wasn't helped by the smile that Faye gave her at that moment.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? You're the one who fainted."

Kaida scoffed.

"I lost consciousness, I didn't faint. Hunters don't faint."

And there was that smile again. Kaida tried to push the thought aside as she went to retrieve a breakfast bar from her bag. She was starving. Luckily she always kept a supply of snacks with her to keep her going.

Dean grumbled as he drank his coffee. He didn't see why they had to be up and about so damn early. Sure Sam had had this epiphany about Zack's case, but that didn't mean they had to check it out so early. If he was being honest, that wasn't the only reason that he was in a bad mood. The whole thing with Kaida hadn't sat very well with him. Something was going on with her and he didn't like not knowing what it was. That was when he heard Sam's phone again.

"Hello? No, no, you didn't wake us. How is she? Alright, that's good. Maybe she just didn't eat enough yesterday. Alright. Thanks Faye."

Sam walked back over towards his brother glad that this time he had been able to restrain himself. He understood why Dean was so angry, if he had been the one to try and pick their sister back up after Faye had left he probably would be acting the same way. But it wasn't anyones fault, and she really did care for Kaida.

"Kaida's awake. Faye is taking her to get something for breakfast. Then they are going to get back to the books."

Dean nodded before asking the question Sam had been expecting.

"What have they found so far?"

That was the problem. Faye had been expecting that question as well and had put a stop to it before he had the chance to ask. All Sam could do was repeat what she had said to him.

"All that Faye said was that K doesn't want to say anything until they are sure. They have a theory, but they are still working on it."

Kaida sat the pages down on the table in front of her, before looking back at the bed. Faye was sprawled out on the bed fast asleep. After breakfast Kaida had insisted she get some sleep while she read over some more of the notes. Realising that she cannot put it off any longer Kaida starts to read.

**Of all mythological creatures, the dragon is surely the best known. Virtually every culture in the world has it's dragon myths. The word dragon derives from the ancient greek drakonta or drakon which means to watch or to look at, suggesting the notion of a dragon as a guardian or protector. In greek myth it is a dragon that guards the golden apples of the hesperides.**

Kaida pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at it. She felt the urge to call John again, but she knew that he wouldn't answer. She wondered if it was true, if she really could be part dragon. And if so, did he know. As soon as they had met John had made her his sons protector. It seemed like a very unlikely coincidence.

**The latin word for dragon is draco and in classical roman art the draco is generally depicted as a vast serpent with wings resembling those of a bat, a long tail and fiery breath.**

Kaida shuffled in her chair rolling her shoulders back and forward. The itch was back.

**Pliny the elder gives an account of Ethiopian dragons. These dragons were said to possess a stone called the Dracontias, which was lodged in the brain. In medieval times, alchemists sought these with great diligence, as they were believed to be an essential ingredient in the creation of the Elixer of Life.**

She had been so engrossed in her reading that Kaids did not notice Faye stirring on the other side of the room. So she jumped slightly when she felt the hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, I'm just going to go have a shower. Ok?"

Kaida nodded, forcing herself not to pull herself up and kiss Faye as she turned towards the bathroom. Sighing as the bathroom door closed the hunter tried not to imagine her naked as she went back to her reading.

**Early references to dragon-like creatures turn up in Babylonian, Egyptian, Chinese and Japanese accounts, as well as in classical Greek and Roman sources. Throughout the world there are several stories related to winged firey creatures.**

The itching was getting worse and worse as she read, but came to a head as she turned to another page. This page was a photocopy of a picture from one of the library books Faye had been reading. It showed a mans naked back, and sproating out from it were two large bat-like wings. As her eyes wondered over the page the burning pressure started again. It was just like it had been the day before, but this time Kaida forced herself to stay calm. She breathed through the pain closing her eyes. Then she felt the skin rip and she couldn't stop herself from screaming at the pain.

Kaida fell forward as something knocked the chair out from under her. She missed the table and landed on all fours, still screaming. Then the pain was gone and she was left with the uncomfortable pressure of something between her shoulders, something strangely familiar.


	37. Wings

Note- As I seam to be on a roll here is another chapter. As the chapter name suggests there are going to be wings. But I'm not going to go all wing!kink here. They are not overly sensitive or anything and are more like a set of extra arms for Kaida. My thinking is that they have always been there, she just hasn't known how to access them.

The Weapon

Chapter 37- Wings

When Faye heard the first scream she stopped the water and stepped out of the shower.

"Kaida? Was that you? Sparky?"

There was another scream and a crash, so Faye grabbed the towel and throwing it around her she hurried back to where she had left Kaida in the other room. She didn't know exactly what she had been expecting to see, but it wasn't this. The hunter was on her hands and knees, her t-shirt was ripped down her back and there were two large black wings twitching and flapping from where they were attatched on her back.

"Holy shit! Kaida are you alright!"

Faye moved closer but stopped before she reached her side. She had an overwhelming urge to reach out and touch the new limbs, but restrained herself because she didn't want to hurt her.

"Are there wings on my back?"

Faye nodded, but soon realised that she couldn't see her from where she was with her head hanging down between her arms.

"Yeah. Big ones. Big fucking black ones!"

Kaida looked up at the woman beside her before pushing back so that she was kneeling.

"That's what I thought. But I don't know. I kind of hoped I was imagining it."

Faye couldn't resist anymore and took another step forward with her hand out.

"Do they hurt?"

She asked and Kaida shook her head, moving one wing closer to meet Faye's hand half way pushing into it.

"It did, they ripped the skin on my back when they came through. But they themselves don't hurt. It's like having a couple more arms. It's odd."

The next few hours were spent with Kaida learning how to manouver her new appendages. Faye had eventually gone to get changed and then went to get them some lunch. She knew the hunter well and knew that the first thing she would need when she recovered from her shock would be something to eat.

Kaida was feeling calmer than she thought she should be given the circumstances. But that was probably a good thing. Lunch helped of course as it always did, but she found sitting a bit awkward until she figured out how to pull the limbs back into her body. Her shirt had to be binned, but she found a tank top in her duffle bag and put that on instead. Then she practiced some more. Soon the sun was setting and the two women were sitting side by side watching the tv.

"Well I think it's safe to say you found something."

Kaida laughed as she thought over everything that she had learned over the last few days. There really was no denying it now, she just didn't know what to do with the information that she had.

"Yeah, but there is still so much that we don't know. I want to have another look in the library. I have to say I wasn't expecting you to sprout wings all of a sudden. You should probably stay here for a bit. We don't know how this will effect your hunting."

Kaida nodded. She didn't exactly think that this new development would be detrimental to her on a hunt, but she found herself searching for excuses to stick around. As much as she wanted to keep things professional with Faye, she just couldn't. That had all gone out of the window as soon as she had passed out in the library.

"Yeah, I think that's..."

She stopped talking when she saw the police sketch artist picture on the screen. It was a face that she knew very well.

"Crap!"

She exclaimed grabbing her phone. Faye didn't ask what was wrong. She didn't have to. Instead she turned down the tv so that Kaida could call her brothers.

Sam took the phone out of his pocket and winced when he saw the call ID.

"Hello?"

He had been hoping that it would be Faye again, but no such luck.

"Sam. Why the fuck am I looking at Dean's face all over the news?!"

Sam winced again before answering.

"It's a long story K. And why the hell are you yelling at me. I'm not the one wanted by the police."

Dean was standing next to him so Sam shoved the phone at him.

"Here talk to your sister."

It had been a crappy day so far and the last thing he needed was to have to explain the situation to Kaida. The thing had stolen Dean's face, let Dean explain.

"Hey Kaida, what's up?"

Kaida rolled her eyes as she heard her eldest brother's voice.

"What the hell is going on?"

Faye turned the television off completely when the news report ended and just watched the hunter as she talked to her brothers. So much for Kaida sticking around for a few days. That was the way it had always been. The job came first, and that went double when her brothers were in any kind of trouble. She knew what was going to happen as soon as she hung up the phone. She knew from the tone of her voice, from the frantically changes in temperature around them, and from the look on her face. What she didn't expect however was the crack of Kaida's new wings snapping out from her back as she flipped her phone closed.

Kaida herself didn't seem to notice as she started packing up her bags as quickly as possible.

"So, you're leaving."

Faye didn't know what to do with herself now. She didn't know where she stood. Before she hadn't been too worried when their time had been cut short for a hunt, because she knew that they would have more time. Now though she didn't know what would happen. They had finally started to getmore comfortable with each other again, and she was needed.

Kaida stopped and looked over at Faye as if she could here her thoughts. Then she looked back at her bag and flapped her wings thoughtfully.

"Do you think it would be alright if I left this stuff here."

The confusion on her face was obvious so the hunter elaborated.

"The drive would take over 6 hours if I even had the car, which they still won't let me drive by the way. It probably wouldn't be the best idea to steal a car from your campus and a bus would take too long. I was planning to see how much these baby's can take."

She flapped her wings back and forward again, but Faye frowned.

"Are you sure that is a good idea. You haven't even tried to fly yet. I can drive you."

Kaida shook her head.

"No, I couldn't ask you to do that. Besides we still have some research to do. This way you can have another look in the library and as soon as I'm done clearing up the shapeshifter mess the boys are in."

Faye just stared for a moment taking it all in.

"Alright. But you call me if you get stuck or crash-land or something."

Smiling Kaida nodded before zipping the bag closed and handing it to Faye.

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

Then she threw caution to the wind, kissed Faye goodbye and she was gone quicker than either thought she could move on her new wings.


	38. Arrival

Note- My knowledge of US geography is practically non-existent so sorry for any mistakes. Sorry for the short chapter. I wasn't sure where to end this one.

The Weapon

Chapter 38- Arrival.

Kaida felt the ache setting into her wings after the first 20minutes of travelling. She was a little disappointed in her stamina, but it was only her first time in the air and she needed to check where she was anyway. She had been following what she assumed was the I-70. But she couldn't really tell how far she had come.

There was a town down below. If she was careful she could land on the outskirts an figure out how far she had to go. Landing however was much more difficult in practice than it was in theory. She slowed the flapping of her wings as she headed down towards the ground. In her mind she saw herself landing on her feet in a run slowing to a complete and controlled stop. Unfortunately that was not the case as even though she had slowed herself considerably by the time she reached the ground she was still flying faster than her legs could run. Kaida tripped as soon as her foot touched the ground, rolling over and over to land in a heap of tangled limbs.

"Fuck!"

She groaned sitting up. She was suddenly glad that she had chosen to crash-land outside of the town. Even so she concentrated on remaining hidden as she made her way to the town-line to find out where she was.

**Richmond Indiana**

Kaida blinked. Richmond? That would have taken her at least twice as long as it did if she had been driving. If her wings and the muscles in her back hadn't started to hurt so probably would have gone to far before checking her progress. But they had hurt and right now they needed a rest, so moving back to where she had landed Kaida pulled the wings back into her body a sat down for a moment. She didn't want to sit long, just a minute then she would be on her way.

By the time that Kaida reached St Louis she had been travelling for nearly 4 hours. She should have been able to make the journey quicker but she had had to stop several times. She wasn't used to flying and her whole back was aching. Pulling the wings back into her body Kaida searched for somewhere she could get something to eat. It was early morning, not even light yet, but she was determined to find something open. Luckily she had put her phone and wallet in the pockets of her Jeans before leaving Springfield, so at least she had some cash on her.

Afew hours later Kaida was feeling much better. She had eaten and she had found where the Impala had been parked. Unfortunately she was not the only one. She arrved just in time to see the police arrest Sam as Dean ran in the other direction.

Sam tried not to laugh as he came down the steps of the police station. He knew they couldn't hold him. He stopped however when he reached the bottom step his brow furrowing in confusion. He had seen someone he didn't expect to see stepping out of the shadows f the alley across from him.

"Kaida?"

She laughed at his reaction and he rushed to meet her.

"What are you doing here?"

He asked although he knew he shouldn't have been surprised. She hadn't sounded too happy on the phone, but she hadn't said anything about coming to help them.

"I had to come and clean up after you two didn't I."

Then she turned and walked away forcing him to follow her. As soon as her back was turned however he stopped short.

"Kaida? What are those marks on your back?"

Kaida turned her head as far as she could to see if she could see what her brother was talking about. Then she remembered. Before she took off she had tied her hair back in a braid to keep it out of the way while she was flying. She usually did the same thing when she was hunting making it easier for her to fight. But that meant that in her tank-top with her back turned Sam could see where her wings came out. From what she had seen in the mirror before and what Faye had described to her, they looked like two vertical scars between her shoulder blades. When her wings emerged however the skin simply parted there to let them through.

"It's a long story Sammy. We can talk about it later."

Kaida stayed hidden as she watched Sam step inside his friend's house. From the look he had given her just before he stepped over the threshold Dean wasn't there. That meant that Kaida would have to go find him. Sam had said that he had told Dean not to go after the shapeshifter by himself which probably meant that he had done just that. Sighing heavily she headed towards the nearest sewer entrance and dropped through the hatch.

What felt like a lifetime later Kaida pulled herself back into the street. She had found the thing's lairbut not her eldest brother. It had looked as if there had been some recent movemet in the dank tunnels but she couldn't tell whether Dean had been there. While concentrating on making herself fade she released the wings from her body and took off to scan the streets. After a couple of minutes however she lost patience and landed pulling out her phone.

"Dean where the hell are you?"


	39. Doppleganger

Note- Chapter 39 and hopefully very soon chapter 40.

The Weapon

Chapter 39- Doppelganger

Sam tried to ignore the smirk that crept across the face of the thing that wasn't his brother. NotDean had just hung up Dean's phone and was stalking towards him with the smirk still in place.

"Looks like little sister is going to join our little party."

He tried not to shudder as the thing got closer his grin wider with every step.

"You really think that Kaida won't kill you as soon as she gets ere. She'll see through you in a second."

NotDean laughed in Sam's face at that, tilting the hunters face up to keep eye contact as he spoke.

"I think you underestimate my powers of persuasion. You see I know everything that big brother knows. There isn't a question that she can ask me that I won't know the answerI can convince her that you are the shapeshifter. And who do you think she is going to believe. You see you may have known little Kaida better when you were kids, but that's notthe case now is it. You left, you abandoned us. And when Faye left I was theone who picked up the pieces. The thing is Sammy I was always more of a brother to her than you were. You were friends first, but I was more than that. Who was it that always got Kaida to talk, who was it that looked after her all this time."

The laughter continued as Sam struggled against the rope around his wrists.

"I must say I'll be sorry to lose this skin. Your brother's got a lot of good qualities. You should apreciate him more than you do."

The creature stood and poured himself a drink, giving Sam the opportunity to try the binds again, but hey were too tight.

"Cheers"

Then the Shapeshifter made a mistake. He tried to intimidate Sam by stabbing the kitchen knife he had into the edge of the pool table. Seeing his chance the hunter Kicked the creature as hard as he could and used the blade of the knife to cut through the ropes holding grabbing the knife in one hand he spun around to wing it at NotDean who was now standing back up. But the creature grabbed his wrist and twisted it forcing Sam back onto the ground.

"Oh, you son of a bitch. Not bad, little brother."

Dean opened the door and rushed towards the sound of his brother's voice.

"You're not him."

Before he reached them there was a crash and the disconcerting sound of his own voice.

"Even when we were kids, I always kicked your ass."

Dean stumbled through the doorway with his gun raised as the pair spun around. All he needed now was a clean shot. If he could just get the bastard to turn towards him.

"Hey!"

Unfortunately it worked a little to well. The shapeshifter spun around pushing Sam into the coffee table and knocking the gun out of Dean's hand. It skittered across the floor out of both of their reaches and they dived for it simultaneously. Neither of them reached it however because as they lay sprawled out on the floor trying desperately to stop the other from reaching their goal the temperature dropped and they couldn't move. Dean looked towards the door at the same time as his double and they spoke at the same time.

""What the fuck K!""

Sam groaned in pain from where he lay amongst the broken remnants of the tabl, but neither Dean or the shapeshifter looked over at him. Instead they both continued to stare at Kaida as she strode over towards the gun and picked it up. If he was honest Dean was a little worried. So much so that when the shots rung out he actually looked down expecting to feel the sting of the bullets in his chest. But Kaida just laughed as he started to get feeling back in his body. The shapeshifter was dead and it was over.

"Why so shocked Dean? You don't think I can tell the difference between my brother and some fucking copy. Come on. Don't be rediculous."

Then she moved over towards Sam and helped him up while Dean took back the penant and phone the creature had taken from him, admiring the two bullet wounds right over the things heart. It was more than a little strange looking down at the dead body that was the spitting image of himself. It was weird enough knowing that some bastard was walking around with his face and with his memories, but seeing it, and seeing it shot dead by his little sister. It was a lot to take in.

It could have been worse, Dean reminded himself. Kaida could have shot the wrong one, or she could have been too late and the thing could have shot him and then started in on Sam. But none of that ad happened. The three of them were fine, they were alive and the bad gu was dead. Sighing heavily Dean stood up and looked towards his siblings. He stopped for a moment confused as he came up behind Kaida.

"Eh, K? What the hell happened to your back?"


	40. Meeting

Note- I have had this chapter in my head for a while. I always wondered whether John ever heard about Dean's supposed Death in St Louis and how he would have acted.

The Weapon

Chapter 40- Meeting

Sam watched the scenery go past while he went over everything that had happened. It had been a stressful few days. He had felt strange being around Becky and hunting at the same time. It had been odd having his two lives combine like that especially after losing Jessica. But then that thing pretending to be Dean. He wondered how much of what NotDean had said as true. Did Dean really feel that way about him, about Kaida?

_"Sooner or later everyone is going to leave me. You left, hell I did everything Dad asked me to, and he dtched me too. No explanation, nothing, just poof. Left you with your sorry ass. Even Kaida left. She gets one phone call from Faye and no matter what hell she went through because of that girl, she jumps at the chance to see her again."_

Sam wondered if that was the reason, the real reason that Dean was so angry at Faye. Because Faye was the only reason that Kaida would ever leave them. It didn't matter that K had gone to see the girl because she had information on ho she was, why she was different. It all came down to the fact that Faye had called and Kaida had gone to her.

That thought led on to another that Sam was trying to process. Kaida, and her research. They had all wondered at one time or another what it was that made Kaida the way she was, but until now none of them had even come close to finding the answer. Some part of him had assumed that whatever Faye had found would turn out to be nothing, but that hadn't been the case. Suddenly there was a theory, a very convincing and seemingly correct theory if Kaida's new wings were anything to go by. That was the thing that he was having the hardest time coming to terms with. Kaida had wings. Big giant fuck off actual working, flying wings. They had actually seen them.

After everything had calmed down and they had actually had a moment to speak to their sister she had expained everything she could about what she had learned, and then she had demonstrated ih her new limbs. He was just wondering how all of this new information would affect Kaida when Dean interupted his thoughts.

"Sorry man."

Dean watched the far away look on his brother's face transform into a look of confusion.

"About what?"

He had been thinkin as ell since they got into the car, but his thoughts had been on how awkward Sam had been acting ince confessing to his friend Rebecca about who he really was.

"I really wish things could be different, you know? I wish you could just... Joe College."

The truth was that Dean felt guilty. He felt guilty because he had hated the idea of Sam leaving them all behind, he had hated that Sam wanted to get away from them. And maybe he had felt a little jealous of the normality that his little brother had been able to have while he was away. Normal was something he hadn't had since he was four years old.

"No, that's okay. You know, the truth is, even at Stanford, deep down I never really fit in."

It was actually quite a relief to hear Sam say that. To know that they were all in the same boat.

"Well, that's cause you're a freak."

Sam laughed at that making Dean smile.

"Yeah, thanks."

They were all outside of society, all outside of normal. They were all freaks.

"Well, I'm a freak, too. And so is Kaida. And we're right there with you, all the way."

Kaida watched the gate closely for the hearse. There wouldn't be any people about beyond the officials that had organised the small funeral. Who would turn up for the funeral of a suspected murderer? But she thought maybe he would. She felt a little guilty for misleading her brothers, but she hadn't really lied. She had suggested that they go on and find another case, said that she wanted to make her own way back to Ohio so that she could practice flying. That was all true. She had more research to do, and the more practice she got in the air the better. But that wasn't the real reason she had wanted them to go on ahead. John Winchester was the real reason.

The truth was that if John was keeping as close an eye on his sons as Kaida suspected then he would have found out about the 'death' of Dean Winchester. If that was the case then he would make a point of turning up. It had been a long time since she had seen her adoptive father and she missed him. She missed the training and the advice, she missed the wealth of knowledge that he carried around with him after over twenty years as a hunter. But most of all she missed him just being there. Besides she had some questions that she needed answers.

John watched the coffin being lowered into the ground but kept his distance. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, but he had to find out if it was true. He didn't believe it, he wouldn't believe it. Something else was going on here. Until he was proved otherwise he was going to assume that his eldest was alive and well.

"It's not him."

Despite what he had been telling himself since he had got the news relief swept through him at those words. He grinned.

"I thought as much. Shapeshifter?"

John didn't look at his adopted daughter, he didn't have to to know that she was smiling.

"Yes sir. We took care of it."

Turning away from the grave John walked away from the coffin. Now that he knew for certain that it didn't contain the body of his son he didn't need to see it. They walked together silence for a while until the reached his truck.

"If it is all taken care of what are you doing here Kaida?"

He couldn't be sure but he thought that there was something different about her

"I knew that you would be here sir. The boys are on their way to another case and I wanted to make sure that you knew that they were alright."

John looked across at her and knew for sure that something had changed. She was still Kaida, but she stood sightly differently. It wasn't a big change, but it was as if something had moved, as if something in her had shifted. He had a suspision of what it could be, but he didn't want to say anything unless he was wrong.

"There is something else Kaida, otherwise you wouldn't have come. A message would have been enough."

They were standing in front of each othr beside the truck, but John was having trouble seeing Kaida. She wasfading in and out. Now he knew for sure what it was about, because as good as she had been at fading into the background befores was in entirely a different league. He opened the drivr side door of the truck and indicated for her to get in the passenger side. If he was going to talk about this he wasn't going to do it in the open. Without a word she climbed in before turning to him again.

"How long have you known?"

There was no accusation in her voice, and no anger, just curiosity.

"I suspected as soon as I met you. But I didn't know for sure. I thought it was just a myth. But a friend of mine confirmed it for me not long after."

She nodded and he knew what her next question was going to be.

"Why did you not tell me?"

John sighed because he didn't really know the answer. He had wondered over and over whether to tell her, and he never had.

"I don't know. At first it was because I thought it was too much. You were too young for that sort of information, for that sort of power. Then as you got older there was too much going on. You and Faye were getting closer, and then your father turned up again. And then Sam. I didn't want to distract you. And then it had been a secret for too long. I didn't know what to say. I should have told you sooner."

Kaida just nodded again and he could see that she was processing everything that he had said. That was the way she had always been with him. She didn't get angry or yell at him although she wuld argue with her brothers. He was in charge and she took her orders from him. Even when she disagreed she wouldn't get angry. She would just state her case rationally and then do whatever he said. The only exception to that was when she felt that her duty to protect her brothers conflicted with what he said, then she always chose them and that was the way that it should be. He could see the moment that she wanted to ask another question and he nodded for her to ask.

"What are you hunting sir? Is it a demon? The one that..."

She stopped without finishing and he nodded, unable to answer fully with the emotions that swept through him at the subject change.

"I thought that was it. Why you kept us in the dark."

She climbed out of the truck then and oved around to his side to stand by his open window.

"Be careful Sir. If you ever need any help?"

John nodded again. She smiled a little and then started to fade. Just before she vanished completely he saw two black wings sprout from her back and she took off. He knew that he didn't have to worry about her telling the boys about seeing him. She knew that keeping them away from the demon that killed their mother was the best way to keep them safe, even if it meant keeping this a secret from them. He was glad that she had discovered who she was without his help, she would be much stronger nowShe would protect them the same way she always did.


	41. Breaking in

The Weapon

Chapter 41- Breaking in.

By the time that Kaida crash landed near the university it was already pitch black out. She really hated the harsh landings. She still hadn't gotten used to it. Standing slowly Kaida rolled her shoulders and flexed her wings to try and loosen the ache that had set in while she was in the air. She was in two minds about what she should do now. it was late, really late and the sensible thing to do was to walk to the motel and book a room. But she knew without looking that her wallet didn't really have enough ready cash in it at the moment. She had some more stashed away in her bag but Faye had that in her room.

Ignoring the part of her brain that told her it was a bad idea, a really bad idea, Kaida headed towards Faye's room. As she passed one of the buildings however she stopped. This was where she had been before when she had felt it, someone or something watching her. But this time she couldn't feel anything. Whatever it had been it wasn't there now. Now it was gone. Shrugging Kaida continued on her way.

Faye jumped when she heard the knock on her door. Not the front door, someone was knocking on her bedroom door. Confused and a little terrified, Faye put a hand down the side of the bed and pulled out the knife that she had put there. It was one of Kaida's. After she had run off to help her brothers Faye had realised how unprotected she was in her little apartment. She had thought about putting one of the hunters guns by her bed but thought that was probably asking for trouble. She had never shot a gun before. At least with a knife she had a better idea of what she was doing. Kaida had taught her some basic self defence when they were at school.

_There was something about Kaida. Faye could tell the moment that she saw her girlfriend that day, but she didn't know what was wrong. Kaida had just shrugged it off on their way to class and told her that she would explain later. Now Faye was on her way to Kaida's but she had been pulled aside by the girl herself and into a wooded area somewhere between their two houses._

There hadn't been any explanation that day, just a series of self defence exercises out in the wilderness. Faye had gone along with it because Kaida had seemed so scared and that worried her. The hunter was never scared. She fought ghosts and monsters, she had superpowers, she was invincible. But something had scared her and she wanted to make sure that Faye could protect herself. It was as if she suddenly thought she wouldn't be around to proect her herself. And she had nearly been right. For about a week after that Kaida and her family barricaded themselves inside their house and by the time that she saw any of them again Kaida was fighting for her life in the hospital.

Pushing the memories away Faye stood with the knife held up defensively in front of her. There was another knock on the door. She moved towards the door and put her other hand on the knob. Logically she knew that whoever was on the otherside could have come in without knocking. There wasn't a lock on the bedroom door. But even then it wouldn't matter. There was a lock on the front door and they had still gotten in. There was even a security door into the building that hadn't stopped whoever it was. But none of that stopped Faye from raising the knife again as she opened the door.

Luckily Kaida ducked away, her reactions far quicker than Faye's, because the memories the college girl had been reliving had caused her to lunch forward as she opened the door.

"Babe, it's only me. I didn't mean to scare you."

Faye laughed dropping the knife to the floor in relief.

"Then why the fuck did you sneak in here Sparks. You scared the crap out of me."

Walking through to the kitchen Faye grabbed a beer to calm her nerves. Kaida followed after her with the discarded knife in hand.

"Sorry. I just got back and I didn't want to disturb you. I figured I could just sneak in, grab my bag and head over to the motel. You know leave you a note so you didn't freak out in the morning. But when I realised my bag was in the bedroom I figured sneaking in to take it was a little creepy."

Faye nearly chocked on her beer before she started laughing.

"Creepy? Yeah cos breaking into my place while I'm sleeping isn't creepy."

They laughed together and Faye handed Kaida a beer.

"Says the girl who's sleeping with one of my knives by her bed."

Faye shrugged and they finished their beers. Kaida slept the remainder of the night on Faye's sofa. She told herself that she would get a room first thing in the morning. It would be too awkward to stay with Faye, too many memories of how they used to be. But for now she was grateful for the offer and if it made the brunette feel safer then all the better.

John looked up at the dusty old book where it sat on it's shelf. He hadn't even glanced at it in years. He didn't have to, he knew everything that was written in it's pages. But someone else needed it now. He didn't know when he would see his children again, but whenever it was he wanted to be able to give it to her. That's why he had broken into his own storage place in the middle of the night. He didn't want anyone to know that he had been there, but he needed the book. John knew that he should have done this sooner, that he should have told Kaida the truth, but he never had. Maybe things would have been different if she had known all along. Maybe her father wouldn't have been able to put her in the hospital, maybe she would have been strong enough to save Sam's girlfriend. But he hadn't said a word. He had told imself over and over that she was too young, that she wouldn't be able to cope with everything, with coming into her full power all at once rather than it trickling in the way it had. He had told himself that it would be easier to control her wings as an adult, that a child would not be able to keep them hidden. Then he had told himself that it wasn't the time, that there was too much going on. He hadn't wanted to confuse his 'daughter' further when she was a teenager, and young love was confusing enough without adding to that with news that she was actually the decendent of a reptillian god. Then it was too late. Her father caught up with them and Kaida had refused to let him or the boys fight with her. She had taken on the hunter and his friends alone and although she had won, she had nearly died. If she had asked him, just once, if she had asked him about who she was, he would have answered. But she never did, she never said a word. Now though she knew, and she deserved to know everything that he did about who she was. Pulling the book down and tucking it under his arm John left the storage space, taking his time to make sure that there was no evidence that he had been there.


	42. ignorance is Bliss

Note: we are only half way through the month and already I am behind in my goal to write a little everyday. I have a lot of catching up to do.

The Weapon

Chapter 42- Ignorance is bliss.

Kaida stood for a moment to crack her back before sitting back down to continue researching. She had been here for a week now, researching dragons as best as she could. After the first night she had promised herself that she would book into a motel, but that hadn't happened. She had continued to stay with Faye. And even though she had promised herself that she wouldn't, after one more night on the sofa she had began sleeping in Faye's bed.

_Kaida collapsed back onto the sofa with a groan. The research was not going very well and she was trying her best not to think about what she had read that day. Luckily Faye was there to distract her._

_"Here, drink this Sparky. You look like you need it."_

_As Faye handed her the open bottle of beer Kaida laughed._

_"Thanks."_

_The two smiled at each other for a moment before they each took a swig, but their eyes stayed locked on one another. Faye was the first to break, looking away so that she could turn the tv on._

_"How about we watch a movie or something."_

_She said completely avoiding eye contact now. Kaida swallowed nervously._

_"Sure, whatever you want."_

_Kaida said, even though she knew she shouldn't. She should leave, she should put down her drink, pick up her bag and walk out the door. But she didn't. _

_"Great."_

_After bending down to put a DVD into the player, Faye flopped down onto the sofa beside Kaida with a grin. As the titles started they were sitting side by side, just two friends watching a film together. By the time the titles had finished they were closer together and Faye's arm was along the back of the sofa. As she felt the fingers playing with the hair at the back of her head Kaida closed her eyes. She missed this, the little things, the little quiet moments that meant so much. This was one of those, the subconscious movements they made because they knew each other so well. The hunter turned to look at the girl beside her. She was watching the screen with her beer in her other hand over her lap._

_"Faye?"_

_Kaida asked and Faye turned to look at her._

_"Sorry, force of habit I suppose"_

_Faye pulled her hand away as she apologised. Kaida knew what she should do, she should smile laugh and accept the apology, she should turn back to the screen and watch the movie, or better yet go and book herself into a motel. But she didn't, she couldn't. Instead she pulled Faye's arm back around her and put her head on Faye's shoulder. By the time that the movie was half way through they had both forgotten that it was playing as they were too busy making out. And by the time that the end credits were playing Kaida was reaching for the remote to turn off the TV while Faye pulled on her other hand to lead her through to the bedroom._

The worst of it was that she didn't regret it, how could she, it was Faye. She had always been her weakness. Sighing Kaida looked back down at the pile of books sitting on the table. She had been so encouraged by what Faye had found before, by the research that she had done. But now she was starting to worry that maybe she had been a bit too selective in what she had written down. Everything Faye had noted down before was on the lighter side of Dragon based mythology. Now however Kaida was uncovering the darker side.

**The most ancient stories relating to the dragon make it a power that must be defeated or bound by a god or hero. These cosmic battles, which date back to the earliest times include the story of the Egyptian Horus and Seth, the Babylonian Marduk and Tiamat, the Greek Apollo and the Python, and the Graeco-Roman Hercules and the Hydra, and many more. Slaying the dragon often describes a deeper struggle between light and darkness with the dragon usually symbolising the dark, and it's slayer light and goodness.**

Kaida had tried telling herself that there were just as many descriptions of dragons as a symbol of light, but some of the stories couldn't be ignored.

**In Egyptian Myth it is prophesised that all life would come to an end when Apophis, the dragon of darkness who has to be overcome everyday by the sun god Ra, finally wins. **

**In the book of Revelations in Christian Mythology a great dragon appears to bring about the Apocalypse. **

**In the Myth of Ragnarok, the end of the world in Norse Mythology, it is said that the great dragon the Midgard Serpent will rise up bringing devastation in it's wake.**

Kaida slammed the last book shut. Those stories she would have preferred not to know about. Sometimes ignorance was bliss.


	43. Checking In

The Weapon

Chapter43- Checking in

Kaida needed a distraction. She needed something to take her mind off of the apocalyptic tales she had been reading. Looking at her watch she realised that she still had an hour before Faye finished her classes and she sighed. There was somehing that she eded to do, but she was conflicted about it. She needed to call her brothers, she needed to check on how they were doing. They were working a case in Iowa and as always Kaida had to force herself not to worry about them. But at the same time she knew what the first question out of their mouths would be when she called. They would ask how the research was going, as if she had found aything. And that was the last thing that she wanted to talk about.

Collecting her things together Kaida left the library and made her way to Faye's apartment. She knew that she wouldn't get anything else done and she really needed to call her brothers. As she walked, Kaida sent Faye a quick tet to let her know that she had left the library. She wouldn't get it until she finishedclass but at least she would know to come straight home.

Meanwhile Sam and Dean were leaning up against the Impala discussing the case that they were on.

"It's the same symbol. Seems like it is the spirit of Jacob Karns."

"All right, let's find the dude's grave, salt and burn the bones, and put him down."

"After execution, Jacob Karns was laid to rest in Old North Cemetery. In an unmarked grave."

"Super."

"OK. So we know it's Jacob Karns. But we still don't know where he'll manifest next. Or why."

"I'll take a wild guess about why. I think your little friend Lori has something to do with this."

The ringing of Dean's phone put a stop to their conversation as he pulled it out of his pocket. It continued to ring as he looked at the caller ID and Sam wondered why he didn't just answer it. Then with a sigh Dean accepted the call and brought the phone to his ear.

"Hi K, what's up."

That was when Sam realised why Dean was hesitating. He was obviously still struggling with Kaida being in Ohio. Well no, that wasn't strictly true. He was strugling with the fact that she was in Ohio with Faye.

"How's the research going?"

Sam moved closer in an attempt to hear Kaida's half of the conversation. But he needn't have bothered as she had obviously changed the subject.

"The case? You're not going to believe it K. It's the hookman. The actual hookman legend. And he's the spirit of some preacher. All we've got to do is find him, burn his bones, and we're Golden. Should be all wrapped up by tomorrow."

Faye pulled her phone out of her pocket as she left the class and turned it back on. It didn't take long for her to recieve the message from Kaida so she turned around and headed for her apartment instead of the library. By the time that she got there the hunter was still on the phone and she was laughing. That made Faye smile. The last few days had been a little difficult for Kaida. The research had not been going well as they had been finding more and more stories showing the darker side of dragons. To be honest Faye had been expecting it. From what she could gather from what they had found so far Dragons were neutral creatures so it made sense that they could go either way. But Kaida hadn't taken it very well. It was good to see her laughing again.

"Alright. Just don't screw it up. I'll speak to you tomorrow. "

Sam smiled as he watched his brother put the phone away. He may still be worrying about Kaida, but he had loosened up quickly while talking to her on the phone. Without another word the two of them got into the car. But then Dean paused for a moment without starting the engine.

"Should I be worried that she didn't want to talk about her research?"

He asked, and Sam shrugged.

"Maybe they haven't learned anything new."

Dean nodded and starting the car they drove away. But neither of them really believed it. Obviously Kaida had learned something she didn't like and now they were wondering what it could be.


End file.
